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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  iVIicroreproductions 


Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


1980 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


D 


D 
D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagde 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pelliculde 


□    Cover  title  missing/ 
Le 


titre  de  couverture  manque 

loured  maps/ 
Cartes  g^ographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue 

Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  qur;  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 

I      I    Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 


I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


□ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serr6e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intdrieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
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II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajoutdes 
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mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
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Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppl6mentaires; 


L'institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
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une  image  reproduite.  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  methods  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 


□   Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

□    Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag6es 

I      I    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 


D 


Pages  restaur6es  et/ou  pelliculdes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxe( 
Pages  ddcoiordes,  tachet^es  ou  piqu6es 

Pages  detached/ 
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Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quality  in^gale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materii 
Comprend  du  material  supplementaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  6dition  disponible 


r~T|  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

I      I  Pages  detached/ 

I    1  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I      I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I      I  Only  edition  available/ 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
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obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqui  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


y 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

National  Library  of  Canada 


L'exemplaire  film6  fut  reproduit  grdce  d  la 
g6n6ro8it6  de: 

Bibliothdque  nationale  du  Canada 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettetd  de  l'exemplaire  filmd,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  fihned 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


/ 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimde  sont  film^s  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmds  en  commenpant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  •-*>  (meaning  "CON- 
TIN  JED"),  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboies  suivants  apparaftra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  y  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
film6s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  film6  d  partir 
de  I'angle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m6thode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

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HISTORY,    PROPHECY 


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THE    MONUMENTS 


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HISTORY,    PlIOPHECY 


AND 


THE   MONUMENTS 


OB 


ISRAEL  AND  THE  NATIONS 


BY 


JAMES  FREDERICK  McCURDY,  P„.D.,  LL.D. 

PROFESSOR   OF  ORIENTAL    LANOUACiES    IN 
UNIVERSITY    COLLEGE,    TORONTO 


VOLUME    II 

TO    THE    FALL    OF    NINEVEH 


THE    MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Ltd. 
1896 


All  righlH  renerved 


I  .  .  Jl-UJ-l,    IHIII" 


•mt 


COPTEIOHT,   1896, 
By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


KortoaoB  JJJresa 

i.  8.  CuRhinR  Si  Co,  -  Berwick  &  Smith 
NurwuuU  Masa.  U.S.A. 


TO   THE    MKMOKV   OF    A    FRIEXD 
-..OSK   »,.,„,   „    ,,  ,„„^^    „^^^^._^^^    ,„,,,,„,„ 

I'N-TO    THESI.;    PACKS 

MmSXKB   OK  ST.  AXnKKW's   CH.UCH,  XOKO.VXO 
A    HKRO,    A    PKOPHKT,    AXI>    A    SAIXT   OK   ooi> 
— T    -    A    .OVKU    Axn    KXPOrx...     OK    XH.TH 
Oi'KATKH   AS   A   .OVKU  A>X,   UKU-KB   OK  MKX 


PREFACE 


A  woKD  of  explanation  is  due  to  those  who  have  read  the 
preface  to  the  first  of  these  vohinies.  It  was  there  stated  that 
a  second  volume  would  complete  the  work.  It  soon  appeared, 
however,  that  it  was  imi)ossible  to  deal  fairly,  much  less 
adequately,  under  the  i)roposed  limitation,  with  the  topics 
which  claimed  attention.  Above  all,  the  inner  history  of 
Israel  seemed  to  demand  fresh  and  thorough  treatment.  Thus 
it  has  resulted,  that  instead  of  the  single  chapter  in  Avhich 
I  had  intended  to  sketch  the  governmental,  social,  and  nun-al 
progress  of  the  Hebrew  people,  the  whole  of  Book  VII  has 
been  devoted  to  this  fascinating  theme.  The  complement 
thereof,  the  development  of  the  ancient  Hebrew  literature, 
is  a  subject  equally  weighty  and  urgent.  But  it  will,  I  think, 
be  admitted  that  it  cannot  be  intelligently  and  profitably 
taken  up  until  Israel's  career  as  a  nation  has  been  followed 
to  its  conclusion.  Its  direct  discussion  has,  therefore,  been 
relegated  to  the  third  and  concluding  volume. 

No  apology  is  needed  for  the  length  to  which  Book  VII 
has  been  allowed  to  run.  The  outward  events  of  the  history 
of  Israel,  mainly  recorded  in  their  own  annals,  are  easily 
recapitulated.  Not  so  obvious,  however,  and  still  more  im- 
portant, are  the  inner  life  and  movement,  of  Avhich  these 
events  are  the  expression  or  the  occasion.  We  do  not  half 
understand,  we  do  not  even  really  know,  the  achievements  of 
any  people,  unless  we  have  learned  in  some  measure  how  and 
why  they  have  done  what  they  did.  The  task  of  the  historian 
of  Israel  is,  therefore,  not  complete  when  he  has  shown,  by 
the  aid  of  contemporary  monuments,  how  the  narrative  of  the 
native  chroniclers  may  be  supplemented  and  elucidated.  He 
needs  to  trace  the  rise,  direction,  and  issue  of  the  hidden  cur- 


viii 


PRKFACE 


rents  of  the  iiatiijual  life.  Acooidingly,  I  have  laboured  to 
make  as  clear  and  real  as  possible  the  growth  of  the  Hebrew 
coinnnuiity,  the  distinctive  character  of  its  social  and  domestic 
institutions,  its  political  evolution,  its  progress  in  the  inter- 
dependent spheres  of  society,  morals,  and  religion. 

Another  motive,  also,  has  induced  me  to  elaborate  this  earlier 
half  of  the  volume.  Perhaps  the  greatest  present  need  of  the 
many  earnest  students  of  the  Old  Testament  is  a  consistent 
and  rational  conception  of  the  conditions  under  which  the 
word  of  Revelation  came  to  the  people  into  whose  moral  and 
spiritual  life  it  was  interfused.  The  ''  higher  criticism  "  must 
abdicate  the  seat  of  popular  authority  unless  it  obviously  rests 
upon  a  broad  and  sure  foundation.  Chief  and  foremost  among 
its  necessary  preliminaries  are  the  conclusions  of  philological 
and  historical  science.  A  sound  philology  appreciates  the 
Hebrew  literature  in  itself,  as  well  as  in  its  place  among 
the  other  Semitic  literatures.  By  the  aid  of  historical  insight 
and  perspective,  the  career  of  the  Hebrew  people  may  V)e 
viewed  as  an  orderly  process,  based  upon  a  living  principle  of 
growth  and  development.  Thus  we  may,  in  a  very  real  sense, 
adjust  the  ])eople  to  their  literature,  their  long-vanished  na- 
tional life  to  their  imperishable  memorials.  That  this  has 
been  as  yet  so  imperfectly  done  is  perhaps  largely  due  to  the 
fact  that  it  has  not  been  hitherto  systematically  attempted. 
It  is  easy  to  be  hypercritical ;  and  yet  it  seems  reasonable  to 
ask  that  there  should  be  some  recognized  method  of  procedure 
among  Biblical  critics  and  historians,  resting  on  principles  that 
are  valid  in  any  wide  field  of  historical  and  literary  criticism. 
Bible  readers  are  at  present  notoriously  bewildered  and  dis- 
couraged by  the  elasticity  of  current  critical  schemes  and  the 
diversity  of  their  results.  Those  who  turn  away  from  the  rigid 
presuppositions  of  traditionalism  are  equally  disappointed  at 
the  prevalent  passion  for  an  unlimited  dissection  of  the  sacred 
books  Avhich  excites  distrust  by  its  narrow  inductions.  It  is 
true  that  upon  any  theory  of  Hebrew  literary  composition 
some  important  questions  of  date  and  authorship  will  always 
remain  unanswered.  But  many  that  are  still  unsettled  are 
surely  capable  of  solution  by  the  consenting  verdict  of  com- 
petent men.    These,  however,  are  not  matters   that  concern 


PHEFACK 


ix 


the  learned  few  alone.  It  will  be  a  l)lesse(l  day  for  Biblical 
study  when  the  way  has  been  made  dear  for  every  incpiirer  to 
become  a  competent  critic.  Meanwhile,  the  average  students  is 
in  need  of  practical  direction.  I  venture  to  suggest  that,  tirst 
of  all,  he  gain  a  clear  conception  of  the  several  stages  of  the 
political  and  social,  intellectual  and  moral,  development  of 
the  Hebrew  people.  Then  let  him  familiarize  himself  thor- 
oughly with  their  distinctive  moiles  of  thought  and  expression, 
their  conceptions  of  the  world  anu  human  life,  their  views  and 
estimates  of  national  and  individual  history,  and,  above  all,  of 
moral  and  religious  duty  and  obligation.  Finally,  let  him,  on 
the  basis  of  his  own  inquiries,  take  note  how  the  various  si)e- 
cies  and  sections  of  the  Hebrew  literature  fit  into  the  external 
conditions,  and  illustrate  the  internal  (qualities  and  attributes, 
thus  observed  to  be  characteristic  of  Israel  as  a  race,  a  nation, 
and  a  social  organism. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  a  word  as  to  the  more  strictly 
narrative  portion  of  the  volume.  The  plan  is  here  still  pur- 
sued of  making  the  history  of  the  leading  nations  of  "Western 
Asia  illustrate  in  general  the  fortunes  of  the  Semitic  peoples, 
and  in  particular  the  career  and  fate  of  Israel.  There  is,  per- 
haps, not  so  much  that  is  novel  as  was  furnished  in  the  first 
volume.  But  the  interest  of  the  story  should  increase  as  the 
events  related  become  more  inii)licated  with  the  larger  move- 
ments which  have  drawn  after  them  the  main  current  of  the 
Avorld's  history. 

The  first  volume  was  generously  received  by  all  classee,  of 
critics.  I  trust  that  the  third  edition,  Avhich  appears  concur- 
rently with  the  present  volume,  will  show  that  it  has  profited 
by  the  good  will  and  good  counsel  of  reviewers.  I  regret  ex- 
tremely that  it  is  not  feasil)le  to  furnish  an  index  until  the 
conclusion  of  the  work  has  been  reached.  ]\reanwhile,  the 
table  of  contents  has  again  been  made  as  full  and  descriptive 
as  possible. 

J.  F.  McCURDY. 


Univeksity  Collkoe,  Toronto, 
May  23,  18ytj. 


..i--*Jti4Jn..j." 


CONTENTS  OF   VOL.   II 


Book   VII    . 

INNER   DEVELOPMENT  OF  ISRAEL 


CHAPTER  I 

Retrospect  and  Prospect.     §  ;]G5-390.     P.  1-29 

§  3Go.  Early  historical  movements  of  the  Semites  —  §  oflG.  Babylonian 
aims  and  enterprise  and  the  West-land  —  §  307.  Kgyptians  and  Baby- 
lonians in  Palestine  and  Syria  —  i?  308.  Aranueans  on  this  side  the 
Euphrates— §  3G!>.  The  Hebrew  occupation  of  Palestine,  its  motive  and 
process  —  g  370.  Progress  and  perils  of  the  early  settlement  —  §  371.  The 
Kingdom;  the  rise  of  Southern  Israel  —  §  372.  Elements  of  discord; 
the  disruption  —  §  373.  Israel  never  really  a  complete  unit ;  religion  the 
stnnigest  unifying  force  —  §  374.  Early  disabilities  of  the  Northern 
Kingdom  —  §  37o.  Slow  develoi)ment  of  the  institution  of  monarchy  — 
§  37<>.  The  dynasty  of  Omri  and  the  Aranueans  of  Damascus  —  §  377.  Re- 
ligious policy  of  this  dynasty  ;  nnn-al  and  political  consequences  ;  inter- 
vention of  the  I'rojjliets  —  §378.  Prevailing  friendship  between  the  two 
kingdoms  mainly  due  to  a  common  religion  —  §  37!).  Subordinate  role  of 
.Tudah  ;  its  chances  of  politicivl  aggrandizement  —  §  380.  Dynasty  of  Jehu 
in  Northern  Israel ;  conflicts  with  Aramieans  ;  vassalage  to  the  Assyrians  ; 
rise  of  .Tudah  and  last  revival  of  Israel  —  §  381.  The  IM  iphets  elucidate 
the  politics  and  morals  of  their  time  and  people  —  §  382.  Great  movements 
of  the  eighth  century,  u.c. ;  Prophecy  and  the  new  Assyrian  empire  — 
S  383.  The  ruin  of  Damascus  ;  the  vassalage  of  Judah  —  §  38 1.  Relations 
of  Western  states  to  Assyria;  fall  of  Samaria  —  §  385.  General  results 
of  the  summary;  need  of  a  deeper  insight  into  the  causes — §  380.  A 
special  canon  of  historical  proportion  to  be  applied  to  the  career  of 
Israel  —  §  387.  Illustrations  from  the  historical  standpoint  ju.st  reached 
—  §  388.  Value  of  the  study  as  a  whole  ;  our  right  attitude  towards  the 
people  and  their  age  —  §  380.  Importance  of  judging  by  right  moral  stand- 
ards —  §  390,  What  the  true  historical  spirit  involves 

xi 


I:- 


xu 


CONTENTS 


I 


H 


CHAPTER  II 

Elements  ani>  Character  of  Hebrew  Society.     §  391-433.    P.  30-77 

§  391.  Necessity  of  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  distinctive  processes 
of  tlie  social  life  of  Israel  —  §  392.  Readiness  with  which  the  Hebrew 
language,  literature,  and  institutions  may  be  apprehended  —  §  393.  Yet 
the  terms  which  denote  these  institutions  have  individuality  of  their  own 

—  §  394.  Vast  range  of  the  significance  of  such  terms  both  literal  and 
figurative  —  §  395.  Analogies  with  the  institutions  of  remoter  and  kindred 
nations  —  §  396.  Terminology  of  Hebrew  social  institutions  —  §  397.  Re- 
ligious bonds  of  the  clan  and  the  tribe  —  §  398.  Relations  to  outsiders  — 
§  399.  Influences  of  tribal  conceptions  on  the  life  and  tliought  of  Israel 

—  §  400.  The  tribe  and  the  clan  ;  the  clan  the  fundamental  political  unit 

—  §  401.  Its  mutability  and  permanence  —  §  402.  Essential  features  of 
clan-life  —  §  403.  Why  and  how  it  was  perpetuated  —  §  404.  The  house- 
hold and  the  family  ;  the  clan  and  the  family  group  —  §  405.  Constituents 
of  the  household  :  the  house-father,  wife,  children,  slaves  —  §  40(5.  Status 
of  servants  —  §  407.  Significance  of  servitude  in  literature  and  religion  — 
§  408,  The  house-father  —  §  409.  Patria  potestas  among  the  Romans  — 
S  410.  The  institution  among  other  peoples  —  §  411.  Not  a  question  of 
primeval  conditions  —  §  412.  The  Hebrew  house-father  in  patriarchal 
times  —  §  413.  Particular  illustrations  of  the  subjection  of  wives  and 
children  —  §  414.  Relations  of  Jacob  and  his  sons  —  §  415.  Conditions 
in  subsequent  times  —  §  410.  The  Rechabites  —  §  417.  Status  of  wives 
and  mothers  according  to  specific  laws  and  customs  — §  418.  The  char- 
acter of  the  marital  relation  —  §  419.  Conditions  of  marriage  and  divorce 

—  §  420.  Gradual  emancipation  of  women  in  spite  of  prescription  — 
§  421.  Parallel  from  Roman  history  —  §  422.  Appreciation  of  women 
among  other  Semites  —  §  423.  Their  function  as  rulers  —  §  424.  Influence 
of  polygamy  and  nomadic  life  on  the  status  of  women — §  425.  The 
transition  to  settled  life;  effect  of  the  acquisition  of  fixed  property — 
§  420.  The  wifely  relation  in  literature  and  religion  —  §  427.  Relations 
of  parents  and  children;  the  status  of  daughters  —  §  428.  The  po.sitions 
of  sons ;  primogeniture  —  §420.  The  first-born  in  literature  and  religion 

—  §  430.  Practical  and  essential  meaning  of  fatherhood  and  motherhood 

—  §  431.  Early  conceptions  of  fatherhood  and  their  outcome  in  paternal- 
ism;  illustrations  from  China  and  .Tapan  —  §  432.  Fatherhood  and  son- 
ship  in  literature  and  religion;  development  of  the  personal  relation  — 
§  433.  Old  and  New  Testament  conceptions  of  the  paternal  relation 


w 


CHAPTER   III 

The   IIehuews   as  Nomaus  and  Semi-Nomads.     §  434-464.    P.  78-106 

§  434.  Underlying  forces,  material  and  moral,  of  Hebrew  nationality 
—  §  i'-]'>.  Meagreness  of  Biblical  data  to  be  explained  from  the  Hebrew 
historical  and  literary  canons  —  §  436.  Survival  of  oppression  in  Egypt 


CON  r I", NTS 


xiil 


—  §  487.  Disintefirating  forces— §  438.  Relations  witli  the  Egyptiiui 
jM'Dplc  ami  lulcrs  —  §  4.'i9.  Antipathy  and  distrust — §  44(t.  Ocnasioiis  (if 
enslavcnicnt — §  441.  The  survival  indicates  their  organization  and 
their  nuinl)ers—§  44l'.  Thi'ir  steadfast  religious  habits  —  §44;!.  Intimate 
eonnectiou  with  the  [irevioiis  patriarchal  era  —  §  444.  (Consideration  of 
difficulties  in  the  story  of  the  I'atriarclis  —  §  44.').  Need  of  a  large 
interiirctation  — §  440.  Light  upon  the  prolileni  from  liteniry  considera- 
tions—S  447.  I'er.-ional  leadership  necessiiry  in  the  primitive  stage  — 
§  448.  Change  with  the  formation  of  clans — §  449.  A  new  epoch;  in 
what  sen.sc  it  may  be  called  "  Mo.saic"  —  §  450.  How  the  presidency  of 
Moses  answered  to  the  immediate  needs  of  his  people  —  §  451.  Means 
devised  to  .secure  unity  of  sentiment  and  corporate  unity  —  §  452.  Unfa- 
vourable conditions  —  §  453.  The  "  mixed  multitude  "  —  §  454.  Favouring 
circumstances  —  §  455.  Character  of  the  first  attempt  to  regulate  the  ad- 
nnnistration  of  justice  —  §  450.   Important  aspects  of  the  new  constitution 

—  §  457.  How  it  was  not  a  matter  of  direct  revelation  —  §  458.  Necessity 
of  this  new  and  higher  type  of  administration —  §  459.  ( )nly  the  beginnings 
of  administrative  refortn  were  now  possililc  —  §  400.  The  old  tribal  system 
not  speedily  discarded  —  §  4(il.    Wide  sigiuticance  of  the  new  movement 

—  §  4()2.  Inner  connection  between  the  new  judicial  system  and  the  legis- 
lation of  Sinai —  §  40.'{.  Indications  that  both  movements  looked  mainly 
to  the  future  of  the  nation  —  §  4(i4.  The  application  of  the  Law  comes 
later 

CIIAPrKIl    IV 
The  Setti.e.ment  in  Canaan.     §  405-510.     P.  100-143 


§  405.  The  transition  period  was  very  long ;  late  survivals  of  nomadic 
maimers  —  §  400.  The  light  which  they  throw  on  Israel's  past  —  §407.  The 
establishment  of  the  monarchy  is  the  dividing  point  between  the  new  and 
the  old  —  §  468.  Inward  necessity  therefor  in  the  constitution  of  society 

—  §  400.  Data  for  the  period  of  the  .settlement  in  Canaan  —  §  470.  Condi- 
tion of  the  Hebrews  at  their  entrance  into  Palestine  —  §  471 .  Prevalence  of 
a  patriotic  and  religious  .sentiment  —  §  472.  Reasonableness  of  the  Hiblical 
theory  of  the  invasion  — §  473.  Special  considerations  in  ''s  favour  — 
S  474.  The  "Book  of  the  Covenant"  attests  a  semi-pastoral  stage  of 
culture:  no  mention  of  cities  —  §  475.  Prominence  of  tillage,  cattle,  and 
other  indications  —  §  47(t.  The  same  features  marked  throughout  the  period 
of  the  Judges —  §  477.  Life  in  large  citiis  unknown  till  the  kingly 
era  — §478.  Sununary  of  conditions  till  the  time  of  Debondi  and  IJarak 

—  §  479.  Character  of  the  struggles  with  the  Canaanites  — §  480.  A  critical 
epoch:  breaking  up  of  the  tribal  brotherhood  — §  481.  Helaxing  of  the 
religious  bond  — §482.  Effect  of  city  manners  — §  483.  The  transition  to 
city  life  —  §  484.  The  new  Hebrew  city  and  its  occupati(ms  —  §  485.  Radi- 
cal changes  brought  about  by  civic  life  —  §  480.  Administration  of  justice ; 
the  "elders"  — §  487.  The  local  "judges"— §  488.  Judicial  functions 


XIV 


CONTKN'I'S 


of  priests  and  prophets  —  §  480.  Rclii^ious  f^atlieriiit^s  and  central  courts 

—  §4110.  Di'cliiit' and  failure  of  the  ecnlral  rcsuris — §  4!)l.  'I'lie  fall  of 
Sliiloh  marks  a  second  eiMicli  —  §41*2.  Ktfects  of  the  assaults  of  national 
enemies — §  4it;}.  Era  of  friendship  with  tlie  ("anaanitcs  —  §  4!)4.  Heiif;inus 
compromises  —  §  4!)o.  Jialionnli'  of  the  process — §  4i)(i.  Sunnnary  of  the 
occasions  of  social  and  political  changes  —  §  407.  Influence  of  religion 
in  the  recasting  of  Hebrew  society  —  §  498.  Religion  dominant  in  the 
founding  of  cities — §  400.   Religious  festivals  a  controlling  social  force 

—  §600.  They  gradually  lost  political  significance  —  §  AOl.  Industrial  and 
economical  advantages  of  the  growth  of  cities  —  §  502.  The  relaxing  of 
tribalism  neces.sary  for  the  administration  of  justice  —  §  503  An  Israelite 
of  the  time  —  §  504.  His  public  and  sf>cial  worship — §  505.  Domestic 
religion  —  §  500.  Its  crudencss  and  imperfections  —  §  507.  Management 
of  his  estate  ;  treatment  and  condition  of  the  servants  —  §508.  Kmi)loy- 
ments  of  t'le  day  —  §  500.  The  sphere  of  the  house-nustre.ss — §  510.  His 
public  duties:  their  multiplicity  and  difficulty 


'•4i 

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■if 


■23 


rii.M'l'KH    V 


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Thk  MoNAUciiY.     §  511-5;3H.     1'.  144-1(57 


V. 


§511.  Lines  of  development:  military  and  governmental  —  §  512. 
Limitations  of  the  military  spirit  among  the  Hebrews  —  §  5i:!.  Growth 
of  a  militia — §  514.  Changes  in  weapons  and  armour  —  §  515.  National 
and  personal  conditions  of  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  military 
system — §510.  First  stage  :  an  irregular  militia  —  §517.  Second  stage  : 
beginnings  of  the  standing  army  under  King  Saul— §  518.  The  third 
stage  begins  with  David's  body-guard  —  §  510.  Deficiency  in  horses  and 
chariots  —  §520.  Disadvantages  of  a  body  of  mercenaries  —  §521.  'I'he 
first  three  kings  represent  distinct  stagi's  in  the  monarchy  ;  Saul's  gov- 
ernment transitional  —  §  522.  David's  court  officials  —  §  52;).  His  policy 
and  his  faults  as  a  king  —  §  524.  Land  and  people  abused  by  Solomon  — 
§  525.  A  sound  united  nation  now  an  impossibility  —  §52(1.  Results  of 
the  monarchy  at  the  death  of  Solomon;  gains  and  losses  —  §  627.  roliti- 
cal  disabilities  of  the  Northern  Kingdom  —  §528.  Its  discontent  largely 
due  to  governmental  neglect  —  §  529.  Its  lack  of  political  development  — 
§  o.'U).  Formation  of  administrative  divisions  —  §  5;)1.  The  "provinces" 
and  the  "princes"  —  §  5;]2.  Political  and  moral  issues  are  now  more 
clearly  presented  —  §  5;!3.  They  are  deternuned  by  the  leaders  of  society, 
the  nobles  and  rulers  —  §5:14.  Absolutism  in  Israel  —  §  5;{5.  The  kings 
and  the  priests  and  prophets  —  §  5.'j(5.  The  kings  and  the  local  rulers  and 
nobles  —  §  5.'57.  Inllueiice  of  the  leading  men  in  making  and  unmaking 
kings  —  §  538.  Freedom  of  action  of  the  local  magnates  exi>lained 


CONTENTS 


XV 


CHAPTER   VI 

Society,  Morals,  and  Religion.     §  539-619.     P.  168-236 

§  539.  Grades  of  society :  primary  disliuctioa  between  master  and 
slave  —  §  540.  Slaves  increased  from  the  ranks  of  captives  and  tributa- 
ries—  §  541.    Also  from  the  debtor  and  impoverished  classes  —  §  542. 
Legal  provisions  for  the  protection  of  slaves  —  §  543.  Unique  position  of 
Israel  in  this  regard  — §544.  Benefits  conferred  by  slavery;   it  was  a 
means  of  assimilating  vassals  to  Israel  —  §  545.  The  protection  it  afforded 
to  the  unfortunate  and  per.secuted  —  §  546.  It  developed  in  Israel  the 
philanthropic  temper— §  547.  The  lessons  learned  by  Israel  from  its  own 
history —  §  548.  Policy  of  Israel  towards  "  strangers  " ;  definition  of  the 
,/?,._§  549.   The  foreigner,  the  temporary  "guest,"  the  "sojourner," 
and  the  naturalized  citizen  — §  550.  Adoption  of  outsiders  in  early  and 
later  history  — §  551.  Large  and  speedy  incorporation  accounted  for  — 
§  552.    Favourable  conditions  for  application  —  §  553.    The  adoption  of 
outsiders  idealized  in  Prophecy  —  §  554.    The  same  theme  unfolded  in 
the  Psalms— §  555.  Destructive  forces  in  Israel  —  §  556.  Foes  without 
less  noxious  than  evils  within  —  §  557.  The  decline  and  fall  the  result  of 
inherent  tendencies  and  characteristics  of  the  nation  —  §  558.    Israel's 
unique  prerogative  of  morality  its  only  possible  salvation  —  §559.  The 
iniluentlal  classes  in  Israel  summarized  —  §  560.  Primitive  social  equality 
— §  561.  It  was  but  little  disturbed  at  first  after  the  occupation  —  §  562. 
New  elements  of  the  population  which  gave  shape  and  bias  to  the  social 
life  of  Israel  in  Canaan  —  §  563.  New  prerogatives  of  the  military  leaders 
tending  to  permanence  of  authority. — §  564.   Distribution  of  territory 
and  the  rC-ginie  of  "judges"  —  §  565.  The  decisive  matter  was  the  pos- 
session of  land  —  §  566.    Provision  for  freemen  —  §  567.  Provision  for 
.slaves  and  clients  —  §568.   Aggrandizement  of  leading  families  through 
these  dependents  —  §   509.    Settled   life  favours  the   hereditary  tenure 
of  offices  —  §  570.  Instances  in  Israel  — §  571.  Development  of  an  aristo- 
cratic class  —  §  572.  Impoverishment  of  the  masses  —  §  573.  Relative  pro- 
portion of  rich  and  poor  —  §  574.    Moral  causes  widened  the  chasm  — 
§  575.  Employment  of  capital  and   the  chances  of  the  poor  —  §  576. 
Ivfiiu'dial  statutes  against  usury  and  mendicancy  —  §577.  Neighbourli- 
ness in  the  olden  time  —  §  578.  Social  abuses  under  the  monarchy  —  §  579. 
Classes  of  social  wrongs  in  the  literature  of  the  people  —  §  580.  Land  was 
held  from  Jehovah  —  §  581.  Hence  the  wrong  done  in  expropriation  — 
§  582.  Parallel  to  the  case  of  the  unfortunate  and  destitute  —  §  583.  Tes- 
timony as  to  the  siioliation  of  fixed  property  —  §  584.  Steps  towards  im- 
poverishment; the  giving  of  security  —  §  585.  The  debtor  liable  to  be  .sold 
into  slavery  —  §  586.  How  were  such  oppressions  and  exactions  possible 
in  a  state  like  Israel '.'  —  §  587.  The  influential  classes  were  responsible 
for  the   evil  — §  588.   Wr-nt   of  independent  tribunals:    the   priests  as 
"  judges"  —  §  589.  Testimony  as  to  the  judicial  conduct  of  the  priests  — 


1 


XVI 


CONTENTS 


It 


§  oOO.  Appeal  to  "judges";  character  of  their  jurisdiction  —  §  591. 
Lack  of  gradation  and  organization  in  the  order  of  judges  —  S  r>92.  The 
injurious  results  of  governmental  and  popular  indifference  —  §  690. 
Sweeping  condemnation  of  the  practice  of  justice  in  Israel  —  §  594.  Trev- 
alence  and  virulence  of  bribery  and  corruption  in  Eastern  lands  —  §  695. 
Instances  from  the  several  departments  of  the  Hebrew  literature —  §  596. 
Couconutant  and  auxiliary  vices  —  §  597.  Universality  and  magnitude  of 
the  "social  question  "  in  Hebrew  life  and  literature  —  §  598.  How  social 
disorders  are  characterized  in  the  Tsalms  —  §  599.  Job  as  supplementing 
the  Psalms  —  §  GOO.  The  I'salms  as  contrasted  with  Job,  Proverbs,  and 
the  Prophets  —  §  GOl.  Significant  positions  assumed  or  maintained  in  the 
Psalms  and  Proverbs  —  §  C02.  Necessary  connection  between  social  phe- 
nomena and  tlie  religion  of  Jehovah  —  §  003.  Aspirations  after  a  re- 
fjrming  king  —  §  004.  Sociological  basis  of  the  Messianic  conception  — 
§  005.  Inferences  as  to  the  date  of  the  Psalms  of  "  the  poor"  —  §  000. 
Confirmation  from  the  historical  and  prophetical  writings  —  §  007.  Effects 
of  the  struggle  in  the  development  of  the  religious  life  —  §  608.  Conse- 
(luence  of  the  political  and  social  isolation  of  the  poor  —  §  009.  Effects  of 
personal  trial  on  character  and  opinion  —  §  610.  Bonds  uniting  our 
modern  sociological  problems  with  those  of  ancient  Israel  —  §  Oil.  Place 


of  Old  Testament  teaching  in  the  evolution  of  human  society  —  §012. 
Altruism  a  product  of  the  Old  Testament  religion  —  §  613.  Leading 
features  of  this  moral  and  social  evolution  —  §  614.  We  should  learn  how 
the  Old  and  the  New  Testament  are  related  —  §  015.  How  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  rooted  in  the  Old  —  §  010.  How  the  new  spirit  and  teaching  are 
an  historical  continuation  of  the  old—  §  017.  How  Jesus  relieved  ancient 
society  of  its  disabilities  —  §  618.  The  new  motive  of  his  personality  and 
character  —  §  619.  "  This  is  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  " 


I 


Book   VIII 

HEBREWS,  EGYPTIANS,  AND  ASSYRIANS 


M 


\] 


CHAPTER   I 

Assyrian  Extension  under  Sakgon.     §  620-033.     P.  237-247 

§  020.  Varied  character  of  Assyrian  military  operations ;  rapid  shifting 
of  the  scenes  of  warfare  —  §  021.  Merodach-baladan  the  Chaldiean  and 
his  allies  —  §  022.  Parallel  between  the  West-land  and  Babylonia,  and 
between  Egypt  and  Elam  —  §  023.  Temporary  successes  of  the  Chaldajan 
leader  — §024.  Subjection  of  Hamath  and  its  allies  —  §  025.  Submission 
of  Gaza,  in  spite  of  Egyptian  support  —  §  026.  Combinations  In  the  north- 
west and  in  the  northeast  —  §  027.  The  Moschteaus  and  the  Armenians 


CUNTENTS 


XVU 


—  ii  028.  Carchemish  invnlverl  with  the  northwestern  insurgents  ;  its  siege 
and  capture  —  §  029.  Heroism  ami  failure  of  an  Armenian  king;  the 
nnrilnvestern  regiuii  gradually  (MU'rccd  —  §  ti.'lO.  Conquest  and  tribute  of- 
Nortii  Arabian  tribes;  t't'tVct  upon  Kgypt  —  S  631.  Revolt  of  Ashdod 
signilicant  of  general  disaffection  —  §  (i;!2.  Capture  of  Ashdod  and  Gath 

—  §  (5;j;>.  Parties  to  the  conspiracy  ;  Judah  not  attacked  by  Sargon 

CIIAPTEK    II 


'M 


AiiAZ  ANi>  TUK  AssvKiAN-  I'oi.icv.     §  6:14-048.     p.  248-257 

§  O.'U.  Review  of  affairs  in  Judah  from  the  fall  of  Samaria  —  §  035.  Im- 
portant chronological  ([uestions  —  §  636.  Relative  value  of  the  data  — 
§  637.  Date  of  the  embas.sy  from  Babylon  —  §  638.  Probable  time  of 
Hezekiah's  accession —  {(  639.  Motives  of  religious  clianges  —  §640.  Se- 
rious iunovatimis  under  Ahaz,  due  to  the  influence  of  Assyria  — 
§  641.  Lsaiah's  picture  of  moral  corruption,  ch.  xxviii.  —  §  642.  Contra.st 
with  the  religious  and  moral  ideal  —  §  643.  Proofs  of  degeneracy  — 
§644.  Isaiah  supplemented  by  Micah,  ch.  i-iii. — §645.  Micah's  view 
of  the  threatened  dangers  —  §  646.  Isaiah's  .symbols  of  chastisement 
by  the  As.syrians  —  §  647.  Rebuke  of  the  expectation  of  Jehovah's  help 
—  §  648.  Judah  secure  from  molestation  during  the  reign  of  Ahaz 


CHAPTER    III 

The  New  Policy  i-nder  IIezekiah.     §  649-059.     P.  258-265 

§  649.  Hezekiah,  his  character  and  disposition  —  §  650.  His  relations 
with  Assyria  — §  651.  Religious  and  political  revivals  — §  652.  The  inde- 
pendence party  and  Egypt  — §  653.  The  earlier  years  of  Hezekiah's  reign 
a  time  of  intrigue  —  §  654.  Isaiah's  attitude  towards  the  movement  — 
§  655.  Isa.  xviii.  and  its  wide  outlook  —  §  656.  Isa.  xix.  :  Egypt  to  be 
subverted  by  Assyria  —  §  057.  A  distant  vision  of  peace  and  reconcilia- 
tion —  §  658.  Isa.  XX. :  a  symbol  of  the  helplessness  and  humiliation  of 
Egypt  — §  659.  Temporary  influence  of  the  Prophet's  appeals 


CHAPTER   IV 


SaRGOV    and    MEROnACn-nAI-ADAN. 


§  660-668. 


P.  266-271 


§  660.  The  situation  in  Babylonia  — §  661.  Final  campaign  of  Sargon 
against  the  Chaldeans  and  their  allies  —  §  662.  Retreat  of  the  Chaldwans 
—  §  663.  Occupation  of  Babylon  — §  664.  Blockade,  defeat,  and  flight  of 
Jlerodach-baladan  —  §  665.  Policy  of  Sargon  in  Babylon  —  §  QiSd.  Exten- 
sion and  security  of  the  empire  — §  667.  Sargon  as  a  city  and  palace 
builder  — §  668.  His  death,  in  705  n.c,  by  assassination 


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XVIU 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   V 

81NACHERIB  AND  Merodach-hai-adan.     §  669-074.     P.  272-275 

§  669.  Accession  of  Siiiacherib  ;  his  character — §  670.  Change  of  policy 
in  Babylonia  —  §  671.  Reappearance  of  Merodach-baladan  —  §  672.  His 
tinal  defeat  and  exile  —  §  673.  Resettlement  of  Babylonian  affairs  — 
§  074.  Subjugation  of  eastern  mountaineers 


CHAPTER  VI 

SiNACHERIB,    HeZEKIAH,    AND    ISAIAH.       §    675- 


P.  270-;]21 


§  075.  Official  Assyrian  record  of  the  expedition  of  701  n.c.  — 
§070.  Character  of  the  parallel  accounts  —  §077.  The  interested  parties 
in  Palestine  —  §  678.  Attitude  and  action  of  Egypt  —  §  079.  The  part 
played  by  Merodach-baladan  —  §  080.  Invasion  of  Phoenicia  —  §  681.  An 
account  by  Josephus  —  §  682.  How  it  i.s  to  be  harmonized  with  the  A.s- 
syrian  record  —  §  683.  Valour  and  fortitude  of  the  Tyrians  —  §  684.  The 
plan  of  operations  adopted  by  the  invaders  —  §  685.  The  lines  of  march  — 
§  680.  Judah  outside  of  Jerusalem  desolated — §  087.  Prophetic  allusion 
to  the  invasion  —  §  088.  Submission  of  Hezekiah,  find  its  price  — 
§  089.  The  Philistian  cities  — §  090.  Centres  of  attack:  importance  of 
Lachish  —  §  691.  Capture  of  Askalon — §  092.  Revolution  in  Ekron  and 
its  .signilicance  —  §  693.  Intervention  of  the  Egyptians  —  §  094.  Their 
disastrous  defeat  —  §  095.  Capture  of  minor  towns  and  of  Ekron  — 
§  090.  Jerusalem  again  menaced  —  §  697.  J'arties  and  events  within  the 
city  —  §  698.  Preparations  for  defence  —  §  699.  Assyrian  officers  before 
Jerusalem  —  §  700.  Speech  of  the  legate  —  §  701 .  Specious  appeals  to  the 
populace  —  §  702.  Hezekiah's  appeal  to  Isaiah,  and  the  Prophet's  reply 

—  §  703.  Further  Assyrian  successes  ;  a  second  demand  for  surrender  — 
§  704.  Disaster  to  the  Assyrians  —  §  705.  Account  of  Herodotus  — 
§  706.  Some  explanations — §  707.  Character  and  extent  of  the  infliction 

—  §  708.  The  scene  of  the  catastrophe  —  §  709.  Connected  summary  of 
the  later  events  —  §  710.  Isaiah's  role  in  these  occurrences  —  §  711.  A 
striking  series  of  prophecies  —  §  712.  Isa.  xxix.  1-9  :  The  siege  and  the 
relief  —  §  713.  Lsa.  xxix.  10-16:  Stupidity  and  perversity  of  the  leaders 
of  the  people — §  714.  Isa.  xxix.  17-24:  The  coming  moral  transformation 

—  §715.  Isa.  XXX.  1-7:  The  futile  embassy  to  Egypt  — §  710.  Isa.  xxx. 
8-17:  The  consequences  of  defying  and  ignoring  Jehovah  —  §  717.  Isa. 
xxx.  18-20 :  The  returning  blessings  that  result  from  misfortune  — 
§  718.  Isa.  xxx.  27-33 :  The  doom  of  the  Assyrians  as  prepared  by  Jehovah 

—  §  719.  Isa.  xxxi. :  Jehovah's  protection  illustrated  —  §  720.  Isa.  xxxii. 
1-8:  The  righteous  king  and  his  subjects  — §  721.  Isa.  xxxii.  9-20: 
Frivolous  women  and  what  they  suggested  —  §  722.  Place  of  the  remain- 
ing prophecies  of  this  era  — §  723.  Isa.  x.  5  ff. :  The  key  to  Oriental 
history  —  §  724.  The  moral  of  the  judgment  upon  Assyria  —  §  725.   Im- 


h' 


i 


1 


iP 


CONTENTS 


XIX 


if  policy 
172.  His 
,£f  airs  — 


agery  of  the  catastnuihe  —  §  720.  Isa.  xi.  1-5:  The  attributes  of  the  ideal 
King — §  727.  Isa.  xi.  tt-xii. :  The  rciiin  of  pe.ace  and  the  hymn  of  reunited 
I.srael  —  §  72^.  Isa.  xxxiii.  1-12  :  'I'lie  coming  redemption  in  spite  of  disap- 
pniutuieiits  —  §  729.  Isa.  xxxiii.  lo-lH  :  Tlie  trial  and  the  deliverance  — 
§  7;!ii.  Isa.  xxxiii.  20-24:  Tlie  redeemed  city  and  its  people  —  §  7ol.  I's. 
xivi.  :  Tiie  lyrical  pendant  of  the  later  prophecies  —  §  732.  Effect  of  the 
disaster  on  Sinacherib 


-321 

n.c.  — 

I  parties 

rhe  part 

681.  An 

[\  the  i\s- 

684.  The 

march  — 

!  allusion 
price  — 

rtance  of 

kron  and 

)4.  Their 
Ekron  — 
ithin  the 

Irs  before 
tls  to  the 
■t's  reply 
•ender  — 
idotus  — 
infliction 
[imary  of 

|§  "11-  A 
and  the 
leaders 
lormation 
llsa.  XXX. 
717.  Isa. 
»rtune  — 
Jehovah 
;a.  xxxii. 
lii.   9-20: 
remain- 
Oriental 
1725.  Im- 


CIIAPTER   VII 
SiNACHKnn.  AND  Bauvlonia.     g  733-744.     P.  322-332 

§  7.'!:5.  Drift  of  affairs  in  Babylonia — §  734.  Final  disappearance  of 
iMerodach-bahulan  —  §  730.  Sinacherib's  son  made  viceroy  in  Babylon  — 
§  T.'Jt).  Ueprisals  of  the  fugitive  Chaldieans  —  ^  737.  A  fleet  built  for 
Sinacherib  by  inland  waters  —  §  738.  A  naval  expedition  acro.ss  the 
(iulf  —  §  7;!(t.  The  Elamites  and  Chaldieans  in  Babylonia;  battle  of 
Halule  —  §  740.  Capture  and  ruthless  destruction  of  Babylon  by  Sina- 
cherib—  §  741.  Closing  years  of  Sinacherib  —  §  742.  His  character  and 
disposition  —  §  743.  Disastrous  results  of  his  centralizing  policy  —  §  744. 
The  manner  of  his  taking  off 

CHAPTER   VIII 

EsARHADDON,  Bahvlonia,  AND  Egvpt.     §  745-762.    p.  333-350 

§  745.  The  a.ssassins  and  the  rightful  heir  —  §  746.  Esarhaddon's 
report  of  his  success  —  §  747.  Factors  of  the  situation  —  §  748.  Esarhad- 
don's commission  to  restore  Babylon  — §  749.  His  description  of  the 
work  —  §  750.  Beneflcent  effects  of  his  policy  —  §  751.  Outbreak  and 
reconciliatioTi  of  the  Chalda'ans  —  §  752.  Good  relations  at  length  secured 
witli  Eiam  —  §  753.  The  West-land  ;  revolt  and  capture  of  Sidon  —  §  754. 
Campaigns  in  Arabia  and  their  motive  —  §  755.  Incidents  of  these  trans- 
actions —  §  756.  The  coruiuest  of  Egypt  —  §  757.  Tyre  not  taken  by 
E.sarhadd  m  —  §  758.  The  Kimmerians  in  the  north  —  §  759.  Their  re- 
pulse by  tlie  As.syrians  —  §  760.  New  conditions  ominous  for  A.ssyria  — 
§  761.  Death  and  achievements  of  Esarhaddon  —  §  762,  His  architectural 
monuments  and  his  character 

CHAPTER   IX 

AssHiiRnANiPAL  AND  THE  Diss<)LviN<;  Emi'ike.     §  763-807.     p.  351-390 

§  763.  .Accession  of  Asshurbanipal  and  his  brother  —  §  764.  Campaign 
in  Egypt  — §  765.  Attitude  of  the  vassal  princes  —  §  766.  Con.spiracy  of 
the  viceroys  with  Tirhaka,  and  their  defeat  — S  767.  The  new  king  Urda- 
man   and   his  unsuccessful   war  against  Assyria  — §  768.  Egypt  finally 


Il 


If 


IM 


f! 


\ 

f' 

\ 

r 

■  r 


XX 


CONTEXTS 


freed  under  Psanimetichus  —  §  769.  The  fortunes  of  Egypt  and  Isa.  xix. 
—  S  770,  Nahuni  iii.  and  the  capture  of  Thebes  —  §  771.  IMuenicia  and 
Palestine  under  Asshurl)anipal  —  §  772.  The  capture  of  Tyre  and  Isa. 
xxiii.  —  §  773.  The  Kimnierians  and  Gyges  of  Lydia  —  §  774.  Gyges 
and  Asshurbanipal  —  §  775.  Incitlents  and  lessons  of  the  story  —  §  770.  A 
vast  disturbance  in  the  empire  —  §  777.  Minor  troubles  and  the  signs  of 
insurrection  —  §  778.  Conditions  under  the  king  of  Babylon  —  §  779.  Ris- 
ing of  Chaldieans  and  Klainites  —  g  780.  Parties  to  the  great  revolt  — 
§  781.  Babylon  only  partly  responsible  —  §  782.  Assyrians  in  Babylonia 
and  troubles  in  Elani  —  §  783.  A.ssyrian  triumph  and  revenge  in  Babylo- 
nia—  §  784.  War  with  Elani  ;  grandson  of  Merodach-baladan  —  §  785. 
His  fate  and  that  of  Elam  —  §  780.  Babylon  aided  by  Arabian  troops  — 
§  787.  Arabians,  Nebaioth,  and  Kedar  in  the  later  conflicts  —  §  788.  As- 
syrian expedition.s  and  victories  —  §  789.  Explanation  of  small  revolts 
in  Phffinicia  — §  790.  Revolt  of  Manasseh  in  Judah  —  §  791.  Judah  after 
Sinacherib's  invasion  —  §  792.  Little  loss  of  territory  —  §  793.  Acquies- 
cence in  Assyrian  suzerainty  —  §  794.  Assyrian  neglect  of  Judah  — 
§  795.  Lessons  of  the  chastisement  —  §  790.  Conditions  favourable  to 
centralization  of  worship  —  §  797.  Hezekiah's  death ;  character  of  his 
epoch --§  798.  King  Manasseh  and  liis  early  years  —  §  799.  Occasions  of 
his  new  religious  policy  —  §  800.  Decline  of  prophetism  —  §  801.  Disaffec- 
tion against  Assyria  —  §  802.  Settlement  of  its  date  —  §  803.  Silence  of 
Asshurbanipal  on  the  event  —  §  804.  Manasseh's  sedition,  exile,  repent- 
ance, and  death  —  §  805.  Results  of  his  regime  —  §  806.  Brief  reign  of 
Amon  —  §  807.  Young  Josiah  and  the  revival  of  the  prophetic  party 


CHAPTER   X 

Downfall  of  the  Assyrian  Empire.    §  808-833.     P.  391-414 

§  808.  Condition  of  Assyria  under  Asshurbanipal  —  §  809.  Its  essen- 
tial weakne.ss  —  §  810.  The  Scythians  —  §  811.  Duration  and  character 
of  their  invasions  —  §  812.  Their  devastations  local  and  partial  —  §  813. 
Supposed  allusions  in  Jeremiah  — §  814.  Ezekiel  xxxviii.  and  Zephaniah 

—  §  815.  Immunity  of  Nineveh  —  §810.  Personal  character  of  Asshur- 
banipal —  §  817.  His  literary  tastes  and  influence  —  §  818.  His  significant 
dependence  on  Babylonia  —  §  819.  His  political  and  personal  weakness 

—  §  820.  His  two  successors  on  the  throne  of  Nineveh  —  §  821.  The  de- 
pendent states  and  Nineveh  —  §  822.  Nabopalassar  the  viceroy  in  Babylon 

—  §  823.  Growth  and  character  of  the  Median  kingdom — §  824.  The 
Median  kings  —  §  825.  Combination  of  Medes  and  Babylonians  —  §  820. 
Basis  of  the  understanding  —  §  827.  Time  of  the  destruction  of  Nineveh 
and  its  character  —  §  828.  Singular  preservation  of  its  monuments  — 
§  829.  Revival  of  Hebrew  Prophecy  before  the  event  —  §  830.  Zephaniah 
upon  the  catastrophe  —  §  831.  The  book  of  Nahum  —  §832.  Its  vivid  de- 
scriptions of  the  siege  and  capture  —  §  833.  Prophetic  images  of  Assyria 


CONTKNTS 


xxi 


Isa.  xix. 
icla  and 
and  Isa. 

.    Gyges 

§  770.  A 

signs  of 

779.  Ris- 

1 

revolt  — 
Jabylonia 
1  Babylo- 

_§  785. 

v^^^H 

troops  — 

788.  As- 
ill  revolts 

tl^^H 

idah  after 

JH 

Acquies- 

Judah  — 

Durable  to 

i 

ter  of  his 

M 

casions  of 
.  Disaffec- 
Silence  of 

le,  repent- 
>f  reign  of 

party 

-m 

AITENDIX 


P.  414-43:1 


PAUB 


NilTK 

1.  Absolute  rule  in  Israel 415 

2.  Sargon's  first  Babylonian  expedition 410 

3.  The  Aryan  Medes 410 

4.  The  siege  of  Aslidud 417 

6.  Sargcin  and  Judali 419 

0.  Biblical  Cliroimlogy  of  the  Kings 420 

7.  The  Altar  at  Damascus 423 

8.  Date  of  Micah  i-iii 424 

0.  Inscriptiniis  of  Sinacherib 425 

1ft.  Sinacherib  and  the  siege  of  Tyre 420 

1 1.  The  submission  of  Ilezekiah 420 

12.  The  capture  of  Lachish 427 

13.  The  jilague  in  Siuacherib's  army 428 

14.  Course  ot  tlie  invasion  of  Sinacherib 429 

Ij.  Isa.  XXX.  7 432 

10.  Inscriptions  of  Esarhaddon 432 

17.  Inscriptions  of  Asshurbanipal 433 


ADDITIONAL   AIUJKEVIATIOXS 


)1-414 

Its  essen- 
character 
il_§8l3. 
iephaniah 
pf  Asshur- 
Isignificant 
weakness 
The  de- 
|n  Babylon 
824.   The 
Is  — §  826. 
If  Nineveh 
luments  — 
piephaniah 
vivid  de- 
jf  Assyria 


<iA  II. 
HA. 

no. 

IJG. 


AIIW.     =  Friedrich  Delitzsch,  Assi/risckes  Hnndw'vrtevhuch,  1894  ff. 

AL'.         =  Delitzsch,  Afisyrisckr  Lesestikke,  3d  ed.,  1885. 

=  Kd.  Meyer,  Geschichtc  des  Altprthnms,  Vol.  II,  1893. 

=  W.  Xowack,  Lehrbndi  dcr  hehriiinchen  Archaolnr/ie.  2  vols., 
1894. 

=  G.  A.  Smith,  Historical  Geof/raplvj  of  the  Holy  Land,  1894. 
=  J.  'Wellhausen,  Israelitischc  und  jUdische  Geschichte,  2d  ed., 
1895. 
KinsJdp  =  W.  Robert.son  Smith,  lunship  in  Early  Arabia,  1885. 
(tlJC.      =  Ibid.     The.  Old  Testament  in  the  Jewish  Chnrch. 
Prophets  =  Ibid.     The  Prophets  of  Israel. 
Its.  =Ibid.     The  Relif/ion  of  the  Semites. 

S.  =  The  collection  of  inscriptions  in  the  British  Museum  named 

after  the  discoverer,  George  Smith. 


^■W" 


wmm^"^ 


I 


!  \ 


Book  VTI 

THE  INNEE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  ISRAEL 


jJ«<o 


CHAPTER   T 


RETROSPECT   AND  PROSPECT 

§  365.  It  has  been  permitted  to  us  to  survey  in  the  pre- 
(,'e(hn^'  chapters  tlie  hinds  and  peoples  that  made  \\\>  the 
ancient  Semitic  worhl.  We  have  traced  in  broadest  out- 
line the  rise  and  [)r()gress  of  the  nationalities  that  played 
their  parts  in  remotest  times  in  Western  Asia.  We  have 
seen  how,  at  the  date  still  popularly  accepted  as  tliat  of 
the  creation  of  man,  the  well-defined  territory  known  as 
the  home  of  the  Northern  Semites  was  already  portioned 
out.  We  have  been  enabled  to  tell  with  some  degree  of 
consistency  and  intelligence  the  story  of  tlie  enterprise 
and  achievements  of  the  early  Babylonians.  We  have 
learned  to  recognize  them  as  among  the  greatest  benefac- 
tors of  our  race,  as  the  pioneers  of  science,  and  as  the 
founders  of  the  useful  and  liberal  arts.  Comparing  the 
Babylonia  of  those  remote  days  with  the  Babylonia  of 
the  present,  we  have  beheld  the  law  of  human  progress 
apparently  reversed.  The  region  of  the  lower  Euphrates, 
now  a  dreary  marshy  waste,  is  revealed  to  us  as  reclaimed 
by  them  from  desolation  and  barrenness,  and  made  the 
garden  of  the  world,  while  its  dead  level  of  desert  land 
was  relieved  by  populous  cities  and  adorned  with  countless 
temples  and  palaces.     We  have  seen  how,  for  a  period  of 

1  B 


FORTUNES  AND   POLICY  OF   EARLY   STATES     Book  VII 


'}'   I 


time  twice  as  long  as  the  present  Christian  era,  this  same 
people,  through  endless  vicissitudes  of  political  fortune, 
retained  control  of  the  birthplace  of  civilization.  We  have 
observed  the  growth,  and  the  rise  to  power  and  pride,  of 
Assyria,  the  offshoot,  the  rival,  and  the  conqueror  of  Baby- 
lonia. The  fortunes  also  of  Aramaeans  and  Canaanites 
enlisted  our  attention.  In  spite  of  the  vagueness  of  their 
historical  beginnings,  we  could  at  least  follow  the  wander- 
ings of  the  one  family  along  the  rivers  of  Mesopotamia  to 
their  inland  commercial  stations,  and  those  of  the  other  to 
their  settlements  on  the  harbours,  the  hill-slopes,  and  the 
valleys  of  the  Mediterranean  coastland.  We  found  the 
Euphrates  standing  in  the  way  of  the  westward  movement 
of  the  Aramaeans,  and  Northern  Syria  long  unclaimed  as  a 
permanent  abiding-place  by  any  Semitic  people.  In  earli- 
est historic  times,  and  for  two  thousand  years  thereafter, 
we  find  nowhere  any  memorial  of  the  Hebrew  race. 

§  366.  Such  is  the  groundwork  of  a  vast  historic  struct- 
ure. Symptoms  of  independent  action  and  interaction 
among  these  Semitic  peoples  begin  already  with  the  first 
monumental  records.  A  Babylonian  empire  appears  about 
4000  B.C.  grasping  at  dominion,  or  at  least  aspiring  to 
paramount  influence,  over  the  whole  region  between  the 
Persian  Gulf  and  the  Sea  of  the  West.  Already  arc  to 
be  observed  tokens  of  a  far-reaching  foreign  policy  on  the 
part  of  the  world's  first  empire.  Already  is  given  expres- 
sion to  that  imperial  idea  which  of  itself  gives  unity  and 
consistency  to  the  most  enduring  national  history  the 
world  has  known.  The  first  Sargon,  with  whom  our  nar- 
rative began,  pointed  the  way  westward  to  the  second 
Sargon,  with  whom  it  has  just  come  to  a  pause.  The  in- 
terval between  the  two  is  over  three  thousand  years,  and 
the  dominant  idea  that  vivifies  and  illumines  it  will  be 
found  operating  to  the  end  of  our  story,  till  the  extinction 
of  Semitism  itself  with  the  fall  of  Babylon.  When  the 
centre  of  political  control  was  shifted  from  Sargon's  city  of 
Akkad  to  the  southern  region  of  Babylonia,  the  imperial 


! 


'M 


5 

! 
1 


il< 


Cn.  I,  §  307       POLITICAL   INFLUENCE   ( »F   EGYPT 


policy  was  still  maintained.  When,  in  the  time  of  Abra- 
luim,  the  successive  dynasties  of  native  Babylonian  princes 
were  superseded  by  a  brief  foreign  domination,  the  new 
rulers  from  over  the  Tigris  fell  in  with  the  old  aggressive 
movement  towards  Egypt  and  Palestine.  During  all  the 
following  centuries  united  Babylonia,  whether  under  domes- 
tic rulers  or  princes  of  Kasshite  descent,  never  abdicated 
tlie  intellectual  control  of  the  West-land,  though  for  con- 
siderable periods  of  time  her  military  and  political  influ- 
ence was  in  abeyance.  The  gradual  decline  of  Babylonia 
and  the  rise  of  the  Assyrians  to  power  involved  no  aban- 
(li)ument  of  the  traditional  policy.  The  way  to  the  West 
was  only  traversed  more  directly  and  more  swiftly  by  the 
more  energetic  and  practical  servants  of  Asshur.  Slowly 
but  surely  these  "Romans  of  the  East"  extended  their 
dominion,  till  at  last  they  are  found  with  the  whole  of  the 
coastland  either  incorporated  into  their  empire  or  ready 
for  absorption. 

§  307.  The  other  claimant  to  dominion  in  Asia  was  a 
non-Asiatic  power.  Eg3'pt  was  at  no  time  a  nation  of 
great  political  consequence  to  the  world.  It  was  not  until 
tlie  ancient  role  of  Babylonia  as  a  controlling  force  had 
l»een  played  out  that  she  was  able  to  secure  any  permanent 
footing  in  Asia,  outside  of  the  peninsula  of  Sinai.  Nor  did 
she  evor  extend  her  rule  beyond  the  westerly  sweep  of  the 
middle  Euphrates.  Moreover,  lier  first  military  interven- 
tion north  of  the  Desert  was  indirectly  a  consequence  of 
the  early  Babylonian  dominion  in  that  region.  Previously 
to  tlie  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  B.C.  the  relations 
of  Egypt  with  Palestine  and  Syria  had  beeri  almost  wholly 
commercial  and  social.  The  constant  intrusion  for  many 
centuries  of  nomadic  Asiatic  tribes  into  Egypt,  culminating 
in  the  dominion  of  the  Sheplierd  Princes,  was  due  in  great 
part  to  the  pressure  of  the  P>abylonian  occupation  of  the 
West.  It  was  the  instinct  of  self-preservation,  as  much 
as  the  desire  of  foreign  possessions,  which  first  urged  the 
I'.gyptians  to  the  invasion  of  Asia  after  the  withdrawal  of 


EGYPTIANS  AND   HKTTITES 


Book  VII 


h^i 


W  I 


that  pressure  which  coincided  in  time  with  the  expulsion 
of  the  Hyksos.  The  relations  of  Egypt  with  the  Asiatic 
West-land  were  wholly  changed  at  that  momentous  epoch. 
From  being  so  long  the  invaded,  she  became  for  a  time  the 
invader.  But  she  could  only  undertake  the  new  adventure 
because  the  immemorial  arbiter  in  Asiatic  affairs  was  then 
quite  divided  and  weakened.  This  the  greatest  opportunity 
of  Egypt  came  to  her  when  Babylonia  had  begun  to  decline 
under  the  Kasshite  dynasty,  and  Assyria,  though  strong 
enougli  to  prevent  the  mother  country  from  asserting  her- 
self as  of  old,  was  not  yet  prepared  to  reach  out  and  grasp 
for  herself  the  coveted  western  coastland.  Furthermore, 
when  the  Egyptian  conquests  in  Asia  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury B.C.  were  begun,  the  whole  region  both  east  and  west 
of  the  River  had  long  been  under  the  intellectual  as  well 
as  the  political  sway  of  Babylonia.  And  when,  two  centu- 
ries later,  tlie  empire  of  the  Nile  had  relaxed  its  grasp  upon 
its  Asiatic  subjects,  the  Babylonian  culture  was  as  much 
in  vogue  as  ever,  and  the  very  language  of  Babylonia  was 
employed  in  letters  sent  to  Upper  Egypt  from  the  hard- 
pressed  Egyptian  commanders  in  Palestine  and  Syria.  Yet 
it  was  not  by  Babylonians,  or  Assyrians,  or  Aramaeans,  that 
the  trespassers  from  over  the  Isthmus  were  extruded  from 
their  militar}'  tenure.  Mere  local  uprisings  of  the  small 
communities  which  then  made  up  the  population  of  Pales- 
tine and  Syria  were  sufficient  to  eject  them.  When  they 
next  appeared  as  invaders  in  the  fourteenth  and  thirteenth 
centuries,  they  were  met  by  a  move  formidable  foe,  the 
Hettites  —  a  race  of  mysterious  origin,  but  probably  in 
part  at  least  of  native  Syrian  stock.  The  j^rolonged  hos- 
tilities of  these  powers,  on  pretty  equal  terms,  prevented 
Palestine  from  falling  permanently  into  the  hands  of  either, 
and  thus  left  it  open  to  the  next  formidable  invaders,  the 
heroes  of  our  story.  Thereafter  followed  soon  the  wliole- 
sale  incursions  from  the  islands  and  shores  of  the  Medi- 
terranean, which  damaged  both  of  the  rival  claimants 
beyond  recovery.    The  Hettite  confederation  was  dissolved. 


Ch.  I,  §  3(30        ASSYRIANS   IN  THE   WEST-LANU 


and  Egypt  did  not  appear  in  Asia  again  for  four  hundred 
years.  Palestine  was  once  more  left  open ;  and  while  the 
Phcjenician  seaports  expanded  tlieir  commercial  ventures 
to  world-wide  dimensions,  their  kindred  in  the  interior 
were  left  to  contend  unequally  with  a  new  and  more  suc- 
cessful invasion. 

§  308.  Meanwhile  Assyria  was  gradually  extending  her 
power  and  resources,  and  the  power  of  Babylon,  though 
with  occasional  retrievals,  was  as  surely  waning.  Organ- 
ized Assyrian  colonies  in  Mesopotamia  accelerated  the 
movement  of  Aramieans  westward  over  the  Euphrates  and 
their  settlement  in  Northern  and  Middle  Syria.  Here 
they  proved  too  strong  for  the  renuiants  of  the  ephemeral 
Hettite  confederacy.  Very  gradually  and  spcjradically, 
after  their  manner,  were  their  settlements  made.  But 
they  had  come  to  stay.  This  period  in  the  checkered  his- 
tory shows  Babylonia  still  circumscribed,  Assyria  still  gain- 
ing upon  her  as  a  militar}'  power,  and  making  occasionally 
a  tremendous  effort  to  subdue  and  hold  the  entire  country 
as  far  as  tlie  Mediterranean.  The  task  was  different  from 
that  achieved  by  the  old  Babylonians.  The  country  was 
now  filled  by  busy  and  energetic  communities,  capable 
singly  of  offering  a  stubborn  defence,  and  united,  of  repel- 
ling any  power  that  could  molest  them  from  the  east. 
They  were,  however,  incapable  of  permanent  confedera- 
tion, and  their  submissi>)n  to  the  more  highly  organized 
Assyrians  was  only  a  question  of  time.  But  these  future 
conquerors  were  not  as  yet  prepared  for  successful  action 
on  an  adequate  scale.  It  was  not  till  the  ninth  century 
that  they  appeared  in  Southern  Syria.  The  period  of  their 
preparation  was  the  time  of  the  early  decisive  development 
of  the  Hebrew  and  Aramaic  communities. 

§  369.  When  about  the  beginning  of  the  twelftli  cen- 
tury B.C.  the  Hebrews  appeared  as  invaders  upon  the  bor- 
ders of  Canaan,  they  were  sincerely  asserting  an  hereditary 
claim.  And  though  they  had  been  for  many  centuries 
exiles  from  the  Land  of  Promise,  their  memory  had  not 


:  \ 


\  ' 


h  ■' 


li 


§, 


I  i 


THE    IlEBKEWS  IN   CANAAN 


Book  VII 


been  entirely  extinguished  among  the  ruling  occupants  of 
its  soil.  Partly  perhaps  through  tradition  ^  and  partly 
through  the  intercommunication  between  Palestine  and 
Egypt,  which  was  the  order  of  the  day  till  the  time  of  the 
Exodus,  a  knowledge  of  the  Hebrews  as  former  inhabi- 
tants of  the  country  was  maintained  among  the  people  of 
Canaan.  The  "  mixed  nmltitude  "  of  intermediate  nomads 
who  attached  themselves  to  the  fortunes  of  the  marauders 
were  also  a  connecting  link  with  the  people  of  the  land. 
We  must  conceive  of  the  "  conquest  of  Canaan  "  as  having 
been  a  very  complex  process.  Battles  and  sieges  no  doubt 
formed  some  of  the  salient  and  decisive  factors  of  the  occu- 
pation. But  however  much  the  valour  of  the  immigrants 
may  have  added  to  their  prestige  or  accelerated  their  early 
encroaclimenLS,  it  did  little  directly  to  confirm  their  posses- 
sion of  the  territory  they  had  won.  We  have  to  assume 
that  the  relations  of  the  Canaanites  and  Hebrews  were 
pretty  much  the  same  as  those  which  have  marked  the 
struggles  for  existence  and  supremacy  from  time  immemo- 
rial among  the  less  cultivated  peoples  of  the  Semitic  world. 
Peaceful  assimilation  by  naturalization  and  adoption  is  the 
principal  means  by  which  tribes  and  clans  inherently  su- 
perior enhance  their  pre-eminence.  And  while  the  supe- 
rior organization  of  the  Hebrews  with  their  loyalty  to,  and 
trust  in,  Jehovah  gave  them  an  immense  moral  advantage 
over  the  peoples  of  the  land,  there  was  not  such  a  radical 

1  If  the  place-names  Jacob-d  ami  Joseph-el  (to  use  modeniized  fonu.s), 
which  have  been  for  the  last  tliirty-tive  years  so  famous  among  archie- 
ologists,  refer  at  all  to  the  ancestors  of  the  Hebrews,  and  are  not 
entirely  Camianitish,  they  imply  that  the  memory  of  these  tribal  heroes 
had  been  kept  alive  in  Canaan  for  five  hundred  years.  They  are  found  in 
geographical  lists  of  Thothmes  HI  (§  145  ;  c.  1500  n.c),  the  former  being 
in  Southern  .Judah,  the  latter  in  "  Mount  Ephraim,"  just  as  would  be 
expected.  The  deification  of  Jacob  and  Joseph  is  naturally  accounted  for 
if  some  of  their  descendants  settled  in  Canaan  before  tiie  Exodus.  To 
explain  them  as  Canaanitic  heroes  has  the  obvious  disadvantage  of  the 
lack  of  known  historical  association.  For  an  ingenious  treatment  of  these 
and  kindred  names  from  other  points  of  view,  see  Sayce,  The  Higher 
Criticism  and  the  Munuments  (1894),  p.  337  ff. 


I'i 


Cii.  I,  §  371        PROGRESS   OF  THE   SETTLEMENT 


social  difference  between  the  opposing  elements  as  to  pre- 
vent their  gradur^  amalgamation.  Especially  must  we 
keep  in  mind  that  the  Canaanites  did  not,  like  the  Babylo- 
nians or  the  Egyptians,  form  large  communities  with  an 
elaborate  centralized  administration.  Hence,  a  basis  of 
unification  was  afforded,  upon  which  the  morally  weaker 
yielded  to  the  stronger  by  surrendering  the  social  and 
religious  distinctions  upon  which  depended  their  political 
autonomy. 

§  370.  Considering  the  enormous  difficulties  of  the  situ- 
ation, the  progress  of  the  Hebrews  in  the  new  settlement 
was  rapid.  Scarcely  two  hundred  years  can  have  elapsed 
between  the  invasion  and  the  founding  of  the  monarcliy. 
At  the  latter  epoch  no  considerable  Canaanitic  settlement 
remained  intact  in  the  region  which  formed  the  historic 
soil  of  Israel.  After  the  passing  away  of  the  original 
leaders,  we  hear  of  but  one  combination  of  native  commu- 
nities against  the  colonists,  and  that  at  a  comparatively 
early  period  in  the  regime  of  the  "Judges."  Far  more 
dangerous  were  the  attacks  from  without,  mostly  from 
peoples  nearly  akin  to  the  Hebrews.  The  inherent  vitality 
of  Israel  and  its  internal  cohesiveness  are  shown  by  the 
appearance  of  successive  heroic  deliverers,  and,  better  still, 
by  the  devotion  and  loyalty  of  the  masses  of  the  people, 
who,  in  one  district  or  anotlier,  rallied  around  them  for  the 
defence  of  their  newly  acquired  homes  and  to  vindicate  the 
supremacy  of  Jehovah.  There  is,  however,  no  evidence 
that  the  ideal  of  a  united  Israel  was  ever  accomplislied 
in  this  whole  period.  Rather,  there  is  proof  of  perpetual 
tribal  jealousy  and  a  mournful  record  of  intermittent 
bloody  strife.  Yet  none  of  the  native  surrounding  races 
could  singl}'  have  dislodged  or  suppressed  the  Hel)rews. 
Their  subjugation  and  obliteration  were  seriously  threat- 
ened by  the  better  organi/.cd  half-foreign  Pliilistines  of 
the  western  border-land. 

§  371.  The  danger  of  speedy  extinction  at  last  made 
clear  to  all  who  were   called   by   the   name   of   Jehovah 


^•w 


1   : 


'■   1- 


til 

THE  TRIBES  AND   THE   KINGDOM 


Book  Vn 


the  imperious  necessity  of  pennaneiit  conibiiuitioii.  In 
the  tiansitioii  period  from  nomadism  to  settled  life,  the 
combinations  of  tribes  were  naturally  made  more  fre- 
quently and  successfully  for  defence  than  for  aggression, 
and  anything  like  a  permanent  union  could  only  be 
effected  on  a  scale  mucli  smaller  than  the  national.  More- 
over, the  tribes  thus  temporarily  united  could  only  follow  a 
leader  of  approved  wisdom  and  the  gift  of  command.  A 
combination  of  them  all  against  an  hereditary  powerful 
foe  could  only  be  led  by  a  king.  All  the  invaders  of 
Israel  before  the  Philistines  had  waged  a  local  warfare. 
This  enemy  overstepped  their  border  and  aimed  to  engulf 
the  whole.  The  first  king  was  naturally  chosen  from  that 
portion  of  the  country  which  was  most  vitally  interested 
in  the  repulse  of  the  Philistines.  But  the  choice  also 
determined  the  destiny  of  the  nation.  It  gave  promi- 
nence to  the  south  instead  of  the  north,  and  thus  attached 
to  the  banner  of  Israel  the  numerically  strong  but  hitherto 
indifferentl}'  loyal  clans  of  Judah.  The  regency  of  Saul 
and  Jonathan,  though  dashed  with  many  failures  and  final 
overthrow,  was  a  distinct  advance  for  Israel.  Judah,  the 
inseparable  companion  in  fortune  of  Benjamin,  was  now 
ready  to  lead  on  the  forlorn  hope,  and  that  under  an 
accomplished  prince  who  had  been  trained  iji  the  arts 
of  war  and  peace,  to  be  the  deliverer  and  ruler  of  his 
united  people.  His  triumphs  over  his  personal  rivals, 
over  the  dreaded  Philistines,  over  ancient  and  newly 
made  foes  of  Israel,  gave  hira  and  his  country  power  and 
renown  never  equalled  before  or  afterwards.  His  choice  of 
Jerusalem  as  his  capital  secured  the  independence  of  his 
kingdom  through  the  wars  and  tumults  of  four  centuries. 
V?  372.  But  tribal  jealousy  and  sectional  feeling  were 
only  allayed  and  not  extinguished.  The  upward  and 
forward  movement  of  the  whole  community  had  diverted 
for  awliile  the  local  forces  of  discontent.  They  again  in- 
'jvitably  found  expression  when  the  country  became  quies- 
vjent  and   the   heroic   efforts   of  self-denying   patriotism, 


Cii.  I,  §  o73 


DIVISIVE   TENDENCIES 


wliicli  had  established  a  strong  and  auijust  monarchy, 
gave  phice  to  the  less  exciting  business  of  sustaining 
the  new  institutions.  Already  in  the  time  of  highest 
national  prosperity  an  adroit  pretender  like  Absalom  found 
the  smouldering  feeling  strong  enough  to  be  fanned  into 
a  tlame,  and  to  be  turned  almost  successfully  against  his 
fatlier's  kingship  in  Judah.  Tlie  reign  of  Solomon  was 
marked  at  first  by  great  external  splendour.  But  it  aggran- 
dized Judah  and  Benjamin  at  the  expense  of  the  northern 
tribes,  the  cultivation  of  whose  interests  was  demanded 
alike  by  prudence  and  by  justice.  The  division  of  the 
whole  country  into  revenue  districts,  instead  of  obliterat- 
ing local  distinctions,  only  aggravated  them.  At  the  same 
time  the  foreign  states  made  tributary  by  David  began  to 
fall  off  one  by  one,  and  the  expense  of  the  centralizing 
and  luxurious  government  at  Jerusalem  fell  more  heavily 
upon  the  over-taxed  people.  At  the  death  of  Solomon 
a  schism  took  place  under  the  lead  of  Ephraim,  the 
natural  centre  of  the  community  of  Israel.  The  breach 
then  made  was  never  healed.^ 

§  373.  There  is  a  certain  measure  of  propriety  in  speak- 
ing of  "united  Israel."  But  the  phrase  has  to  be  used 
with  a  large  reservation.  An  external  political  union  of 
the  tribes  was  just  barely  accomplished  only  to  be  speedily 
annulled.  Under  the  Judges  it  was  merely  possible  in  a 
loose  sense.  Indeed,  it  would  seem  that  all  the  tribes 
were  never  fully  represented  in  a  national  council  or  on 
the  field  of  battle.  The  reigns  of  David  and  Solomon 
over  all  Israel  lasted  but  two  generations.  It  is  question- 
al )lo  how  far  the  organization  of  the  kingdom  extended. 
The  census  taken  by  the  one,  and  the  territorial  redistri- 
bution attempted  by  the  other,  were  doubtless  contrived 
partly  in  order  to  bring  within  the  scope  of  regular  admin- 
istration the  outlying  northern  and  eastern  tribes,  whose 
associations  with  their  heathen  neighbours  imperilled,  and 


1  An  excellent  essay  on  "Jerobotim  and  the  Disruption."  by  Prof.  C. 
F.  Kent,  may  be  found  in  tlie  JSiblical  World,  .July,  1894,  p.  ;]8  ft". 


Jl- 
m 


1  m 

H  .1 


'm 


10 


rp:al  basis  of  union 


Book  VH 


at  last  quite  destroyed,  their  tribal  autonomy  and  their 
national  loyalty.  They  failed  in  their  object.  Probably 
no  complete  fusion  was  ever  possible.  Peaceful  federa- 
tion for  long  among  any  branch  of  the  ancient  Semites 
seems  to  have  been  out  of  the  question.  The  Hebrews  were 
the  best  disposed  thereto  of  all  the  race ;  but  with  them 
also  local  interests  finally  triumphed  over  their  own  ideal 
of  national  centralization.  The  notion  of  a  united  Israel 
is  imposing  and  persistent.  A  people  or  a  race  of  endur- 
ing memories  and  tragic  fates  idealizes  its  earlier  history, 
and  even  in  its  decline  colours  the  whole  horizon  of  its 
national  outlook  with  the  reflection  of  the  bright  imagined 
past.  But  the  idea  of  Israel  as  a  great  political  unit  is 
based  not  merely  on  the  ephemeral  glory  of  the  kingdom 
of  David.  It  is  the  embodiment  of  the  far  profounder  and 
more  abiding  conception  of  a  religious  unity.  The  real 
solidarity  of  Israel  was  always  the  outcome  of  a  common 
allegiance  and  fidelity  to  Jehovah.  It  was  not  more  true 
that  Jehovah,  their  God,  was  One,  than  that  they,  his 
people,  should  be  one  also.  But  this  union  of  heart  and 
sentiment  depended  again  upon  the  purity  and  spiritual- 
ity of  his  worship.  In  this,  also,  Israel  has  idealized  its 
past.  Though  pure  and  spiritual  in  the  ideal  cherished 
by  worthy  souls  throughout  the  history  of  Israel,  the  con- 
stant tendency  of  the  mass  of  the  people,  including  as  a 
rule  the  governing  classes,  was  to  debase  his  worship,  both 
after  their  own  ancestral  fashion,  and  after  the  still  more 
sensuous  and  degrading  models  of  the  Canaanitish  religions. 
This,  however,  did  not  do  away  with  the  sense  of  obliga- 
tion to  serve  Jehovah,  in  one  tangible  method  or  another. 
The  Temple  and  its  services  in  Jerusalem  discouraged, 
from  the  very  first,  idolatrous  or  symbolic  worship.  But 
the  Temple  was  nc  w  no  longer  Israelitish.  It  was  at  once 
the  centre  of  the  ^'udaic  monarch}'  and  the  most  power- 
ful factor  in  its  conservation  and  growth.  The  schis- 
matics of  Ephraim  and  its  northern  allies  recognized,  as 
strongl}'  as  did  the  Judaites,  the  claims  of  Jehovah's  wor- 


s  VII 

their 

)al)ly 

ileia- 

nites 

were 

them 

ideal 

[svael 

nduv- 

stoiy, 

of  its 

.criuecl 

mit  is 

igdom 

er  and 

le  real 

•minon 

•e  true 

jy,  his 

rt  and 
ritual- 
ed  its 
rished 
e  con- 

Ijt  as  a 

b,  both 
more 
iigions. 
jbliga- 
liother. 
uaged, 
But 
lit  once 
)Ower- 
schis- 
^ed,  as 
I's  wor- 


Cii.  I,  §374      NOKTllKKN   ISHAEL  AFTER   THE   SCHISM  U 

ship.  The  absence  of  his  auspices  meant  the  collapse  of 
Israel  everywhere.  Hence  the  consecration  of  popular 
symbols  of  Jehovah  among  the  northern  tribes,  whose 
shrines,  in  the  ancient  sacred  places  of  their  ancestors, 
were  so  distributed  as  to  intercept  and  influence,  in  behalf 
of  the  specific  Ephraimitish  rites,  the  population  of  the 
land  both  near  and  far.  Thus  was  the  fiction  of  a  national 
palladium  cherished  and  maintained. 

§  374.  The  history  of  Northern  Israel  in  its  develop- 
ment and  decline  naturally  falls  into  three  main  periods. 
The  first  division  extends  to  the  djaiasty  of  Omri  and  the 
founding  of  Samaria ;  the  second,  to  the  end  of  the  dynasty 
of  Jehu ;  the  third,  to  the  fall  of  the  capital.  The  first 
period  (925-885  B.C.)  is  one  of  disorganization,  of  blind 
struggling,  and  of  confusion.  In  spite  of  the  tadvantages 
which  it  had  over  its  southern  rival,  in  a  greater  popula- 
tion, a  more  seductive  worsliip,  and  the  chances  of  inmiu- 
nity  from  exorbitant  taxation,  its  earlier  years  were  marked 
by  political  and  industrial  misfortune.  The  elements  of  a 
strong  kingdom  were  present,  but  there  was  no  real  gov- 
ernment of  the  nation  as  a  whole.  Indeed,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  define  the  limits  of  the  nation  in  this  period,  or 
to  point  out  in  what  sense  a  nation  really  existed.  The 
outlying  tribes  at  the  best  held  on  to  the  commonwealth 
and  the  institutions  of  Israel  by  a  very  precarious  tenure. 
Even  the  more  central  tribes,  with  Ephraim  as  the  moral 
base  of  support  and  the  rallying  ground,  were  without  a 
connnon  state  policy,  or  unity  of  feeling  or  of  action,  or 
national  spirit,  or  loyalty  to  their  leaders.  It  seems,  in  fact, 
that  the  whole  of  the  nominal  Israel  never  in  this  period 
clung  to  a  single  ruler.  And  while  the  people  did  not  know 
how  to  obey,  the  kings  were  equally  unable  to  govern. 
"  The  manner  of  the  kingdom  "  that  had  been  propounded 
carefully  by  its  inaugurator  could  in  any  case  be  learned 
only  by  experience ;  and  the  scattered,  unsociable  tribes 
and  clans  and  families  of  Israel  were  but  slow  scholars  in 
this  department  of  political  science.     So  far  the   kingly 


■H 


SI  J 


12 


TUOUHLES   OF  THE   KINGDOM 


Book  VII 


art  had  been  practised  almost  exclusively  in  the  family  of 
Judah.  Monarchical  independence,  suddenly  asserted  by 
the  northern  tribes,  found  them  equally  unprepared  to 
enjoy  its  privileges  and  to  exercise  its  prerogatives.  Jero- 
boam's coup  d'etat^  justifiable  as  it  may  have  been  under  the 
conditions,  was  a  political  failure.  Monarchy  was  never 
really  at  home  in  any  section  of  Israel.  Its  rare  compara- 
tive success  was  only  gained  through  slow  adjustment  to 
the  patent  consequences  of  repeated  and  disastrous  fail- 
ures. In  things  political,  Israel,  like  most  of  the  Semites, 
learned  only  under  the  sting  of  the  lash.  The  recoil  from 
Rehoboam's  threatened  whip  of  scorpions,  while  affording 
a  temporary  measure  of  freedom,  brought  about  in  effect  a 
relapse  into  semi-anarchy. 

^  375.  Evidence  of  governmental  impotence  and  of 
popular  distrust  abound  on  every  hand.  The  little  rem- 
nant of  Judah,  compact  and  united,  w^as  the  superior  in 
war  for  the  first  twenty  years  after  the  disruption.  The 
change  of  capitals,  or  rather  of  royal  residences,  shows 
not  only  the  desperate  character  of  the  royal  fortunes,  but 
also,  when  we  consider  the  functions  of  a  king  in  Israel, 
reveals  the  difficulty  experienced  by  the  people  in  secur- 
ing the  redress  of  social  grievances.  The  facility  with 
which  so  much  of  the  country  north  of  Esdraelon  was 
transferred  to  the  Aramceans  of  Damascus  and  retained 
by  them,  indicates  that  a  chasm  separated  Naphtali  and 
Zebulon  from  Ephraim,  as  deep  as  that  Avhich  sundered 
Ephraim  from  Judah.  The  succession  of  usurpations, 
dethronements,  and  murders  which  followed  the  death  of 
Jeroboam  were  not  so  much  the  occasions  as  the  symptoms 
of  internal  strife  and  confusion.  They  might  almost  seem 
to  liave  formed  a  necessary  stage  in  the  development  of  a 
genuine  monarchy  out  of  the  nucleus  of  the  loosely  at- 
tached sections  and  tribes  that  still  held  fast  to  the  name 
and  the  traditions  of  Israel.  "Ephraim  "  was  evolved  out  of 
"  Israel "  through  a  series  of  revolutions  ;  and  the  confusion 
and  turmoil  that  agitated  the  whole  chaotic  body  politic 


('II.  I,  §370  REVIVAL  OF   NATIONAL  Sl'IRIT 


l.J 


were  as  necessary  to  the  consolidation  of  the  surviving 
kingdom  as  the  internal  dislocations  and  upheavals,  and 
the  centrifugal  ejection  of  the  future  satellites,  are  an 
essential  part  of  the  evolution  of  suns  and  planets.  An 
attentive  view  of  the  historical  conditions  will  bring  us 
to  see  that  the  "  Kingdom  of  the  Ten  Tribes  "  never  ex- 
isted except  as  a  splendid  idealized  possibility,  and  that 
from  the  governmental  point  of  view  the  course  of  affairs 
iu  Northern  Israel,  until  the  opening  of  the  last  period  of 
decline  and  collapse,  was  not  really  a  degeneration,  but  an 
advance,  however  broken  and  tortuous. 

§  376.  The  second  period  (885-784  li.c.)  was,  accord- 
ing to  this  view  of  Israel's  political  career,  the  epoch  of 
its  real  development  into  a  nation.  Unity  and  solidarity 
came  in  fact  to  each  of  the  kingdoms  through  their  separa- 
tion ;  and  if  the  two  main  sections  could  not  be  fused 
together,  it  were  much  better  that  they  should  be  severed, 
and  crystallize  each  around  its  own  centre.  Samaria, 
founded  by  the  genius  and  foresight  of  Omri,  became  to 
the  Northern  Kingdom  what  Jerusalem  was  to  the  South- 
ern. It  proved  a  rallying-place  and  a  sure  defence  for  the 
harassed  tribes  and  clans  that  gathered  about  Ephraim. 
The  work  of  the  founder  and  his  successors  was  essen- 
tially to  keep  intact  what  had  been  saved  from  the  disas- 
ters succeeding  the  schism.  Their  rdgime  was  coincident 
with  the  flourishing  period  of  the  Aramseans  in  Syria, 
and  also  with  the  first  stages  of  the  warfare  of  the  Assyr- 
ians upon  the  liberties  of  the  southwestern  states.  It  is  the 
conflicts  with  the  Arameean  kingdom  of  Damascus  which 
have  given  its  distinctive  character,  its  life  and  colour,  to 
the  history  of  the  kingdom  of  Samaria.  Already,  before  the 
days  of  Omri,  the  northernmost  portion  of  Israel  had  been 
absorbed  by  the  Aramteans.  The  worth  of  the  new  fortress 
of  Samaria  was  put  to  the  test  in  the  strenuous  endeavour 
to  save  the  central  tribes.  The  Sj-rian  wars  marked  the 
heroic  era  of  the  Northern  Kingdom.  The  dynasty  of  Omri, 
whatever  its  shortcomings  otherwise,   was   patriotic  and 


14 


TIIK   DYNASTY  (»F  OMUI 


Book  VII 


brave.  Its  greatest  struggle  was  made  for  the  retention  of 
Israelitish  territory  beyond  the  Jordan.  Tiiere  Damascus 
Avas  [)ressing  hard  from  the  north,  and  Moab  from  the  south. 
Moab,  subjugated  i)y  Omri,  was  lost  by  Ahab  to  Israel  for- 
ever. Gilead  and  Hashan  were  the  scene  of  Israel's  most 
intense  struggles  and  most  bitter  sufferings.  They  also 
were  virtually  lost.  The  Aramaeans  circumscribed  Israel 
to  its  central  domain,  tne  territory  which  might  be  con- 
trolled and  defended  from  the  fortress  of  Samaria.  They 
would  probably  have  crippled  the  Hebrews  much  more 
seriously  were  it  not  that  the  Assyrians  inflicted  upon 
them  very  serious  losses  on  hard-fought  battle-fields.  The 
first  great  conflict  was  waged  against  the  eastern  invaders 
with  the  help  of  Israel  and  other  Palestinian  states,  but 
thereafter  Damascus  bore  alone  the  brunt  of  nuniberless 
attacks.  It  was  for  nearly  a  century  the  sentinel  and 
guardian  of  Palestine. 

§  377.  The  policy  of  the  dynasty  of  Omri  was  fateful 
in  other  spheres  than  that  of  war.  Convinced  that  the 
misfortunes  and  losses  and  disintegration  of  Isruel  were 
due  to  the  unattractive  simplicity  of  the  services  of  Jeho- 
vah, these  rulers  sought  to  invest  the  national  cult  with 
the  pomp  and  eclat  of  the  dual  worship  of  the  Canaanitish 
Baal  and  Astarte,  now  made  more  imposing  and  seductive 
than  ever  under  the  auspices  of  the  wealthy  and  luxurious 
cities  of  Phoenicia.  The  movement  was  doubtless  success- 
ful for  a  time,  as  far  as  building  up  a  court  party  with  a 
powerful  following  served  to  realize  the  original  purpose. 
But  a  deadly,  twofold  evil  was  the  speedy  and  inevitable 
result.  Corruption  of  morals  was  promoted  by  the  legiti- 
mated vices  of  the  rites  of  Astarte,  and  a  selfish  tyrannical 
spirit,  the  invariable  accompaniment  of  degenerate  Oriental 
courts,  was  rapidly  developed  among  the  ruling  classes. 
Anotlier  feature  of  the  policy  of  Ahab,  who,  through  his 
Tyrian  queen  Jezebel,  was  at  once  the  inaugurator  and  the 
instrument  of  the  Phtenician  alliance,  was  the  cultivation 
of  friendship  with  the  sister  kingdom.     Such  a  rapproche- 


(.K  VII 

ion  of 
[lascus 
south, 
.el  for- 
s  most 
y  also 

Israel 
)e  con- 

They 
I  more 
I  upon 
.  The 
ivaders 
;es,  but 
iberless 
lel  and 

fateful 
liat  the 
il  were 
if  Jeho- 
llt  with 
anitish 
lluctive 
urious 
luccess- 
Iwitli  a 
p'pose. 
atable 
legiti- 
innical 
dental 
llasses. 
rh.  his 
|nd  the 
/^ation 
^oehe- 


C'li.  I,  S  ;378 


ISRAEL  AXl)  .lUDAII 


16 


tncnf,  deshable  in  itself,  was  confirmed  b}'  intermarriage 
hi'tweon  the  kingly  houses,  which  came  near  enguUing 
.huhili  also  in  tiie  abominations  of  Baal-worship.  The 
excesses  of  the  new  regime  in  Israel  were  the  immediate 
occasion  of  the  outburst  of  prophetic  zeal  with  wliich  the 
niimcs  of  Klijah  and  Klisha  are  imperishably  associated. 
Though  primarily  the  champions  of  Jehovah  and  his  cause, 
their  preaching  had  a  very  practical  popular  end.  Their 
protests  against  the  oppressions  of  the  court,  and  in  belialf 
of  the  outraged  liberty  of  Israelitish  freemen,  gave  life 
and  force  to  the  uprising  against  the  votaries  of  Baal 
whicli  it  was  the  direct  object  of  their  crusade  to  provoke. 
The  desperate  nature  of  the  evils  may  be  inferred  not 
merely  from  the  drastic  remedy  of  revolution,  but  also 
from  the  character  of  the  ill-regulated  instrument  chosen 
to  accomplish  it. 

sj  378.  The  cleavage  of  the  great  schism  between  Judah 
and  Israel  was  not  so  deep  as  its  immediate  consequences 
might  seem  to  indicate.  The  political  union  had  never 
been  very  close,  and  the  hostilities  that  followed  the  revolt 
of  Jeroboam,  fierce  as  they  were  while  they  lasted,  did  not 
long  prevail  over  the  inherent  conditions  that  made  for 
harmony  and  mutual  forbearance.  The  sanguinary  wars 
that  marked  the  earliest  reigns  were  mainly  due  to  the 
recriminations  that  followed  the  separation.  It  was  the 
successful  attacks  of  the  Syrians  upon  Israel  north  of  Jez- 
reel,  invoked  by  their  Judaic  allies,  that  aroused  the  sur- 
viving northern  tribes  to  a  sense  of  the  folly  of  fratricidal 
war.  xVfter  the  accession  of  the  dynasty  of  Omri  we  hear 
no  more  of  treaties  between  Judah  and  Damascus,  and  very 
rarely  of  feuds  between  Israel  and  Judah.  Certainly  no  quar- 
rel was  provoked  against  the  southerners  by  their  northern 
brotliers  till  Samaria  approached  her  fall.  Religious  dif- 
ferences had  little  to  do  at  any  time  with  keeping  up  the 
estrangement  between  the  two  Hebrew  kingdoms.  The 
practical  distinction  between  the  golden  bulls  at  Bethel 
and  the  Ark  in  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem  was  ^or  a  time  not 


mm^m 


mmmm^^ 


■n 


10 


JUDAII,   RELIGIOUSLY  AND  POLITICALLY      Book  VII 


■I    , 


r 


so  great  as  might  appear.  Of  spiritual  worship  there  was 
little  or  none  connected  with  either  ritual.  The  priesthood 
was,  as  a  rule,  suhservient  to  the  court,  and  for  twenty 
years  after  the  disruption  the  idolatrous  usages  introduced 
by  the  degenerate  Solomon  held  uninterrupted  sway  in 
Judah.  Then  a  distinct  change  for  the  better  was  effected 
through  the  reforming  zeal  of  Asa  and  Jehoshaphat.  Be- 
hind this  there  was  the  silent  working  of  prophetic  teach- 
ing and  the  moral  influence  of  the  legitimate  temple,  the 
proper  seat  of  the  God  of  Israel.  Hence  it  happened  that 
when  the  attempt  was  mode  to  annex  Judah  also  to  the 
moral  dominion  of  the  Phoenician  Baal,  the  daughter  of 
Jezebel  could  not  finally  prevail  against  the  forces  that 
made  for  righteousness  and  loyalty  in  Jerusalem.  The 
best  possible  evidence  of  the  existence  of  a  strong  whole- 
some sense  of  the  claims  of  Jehovah  is  afforded  in  the  fact 
that  the  revolt  against  Athaliah  was  led  by  a  priest.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  gather  from  the  alliances  between  de- 
vout and  faithful  princes  of  Judah  and  the  recreant  rulers 
of  Israel,  in  the  days  of  Elijah  and  Elisha,  that  Jehovah  was 
not  nominally  discarded  in  the  Northern  Kingdom.  Cer- 
tainly no  quarrels  rose  between  the  two  states  on  account 
of  religious  divergences.  The  territory  embraced  in  both 
was  always  regarded  as  Jehovah's  land,  and  its  inhabitants 
as  Jehovah's  people.  This  was  the  fundamental  reason 
why  the  relations  between  the  kingdoms  were  normally 
fraternal  and  peaceful.  Even  the  inherited  enmity  between 
Amaziah  and  Joash  could  not  be  prolonged  or  intensified 
into  a  vendetta.  It  was  due  to  this  bond  of  brotherhood 
that  the  victory  of  Joash  was  not  followed  up  by  the  sub- 
jection of  his  rival's  kingdom. 

§  379.  The  consolidation  of  Judah  was  much  more 
easily  and  speedily  effected  than  that  of  Israel  ;  and  its 
internal  troubles  were  proportionally  much  less  serious. 
But  its  political  role  was  quite  insignificant  till  the  time  of 
Uzziah.  For  increase  of  population  and  of  wealth  it  could 
draw  only  uppn  the  Philistian  plain  and  the  Desert  to  the 


'I 

1 


Cii.  I,  §  380       THE    DYNASTY   OF  JEHU   AND   ASSYRIA 


17 


south.  After  its  early  successes  in  war,  due  to  the  unsettle- 
ment  of  the  Northern  Kingdom,  the  military  inferiority  of 
Judah  became  manifest :  the  Syrians  had  to  be  invoked  to 
save  it  from  the  vengeance  of  Baasha.  Shortly  after  the 
disruption,  the  Egyptians  were  able  to  overrun  Judah  and 
enter  Jerusalem  with  but  little  opposition.  Judah  be- 
came strong  and  prosperous  whenever  it  was  able  to  hold 
as  tributary  Edom  and  the  surrounding  region,  which  con- 
trolled the  Red  Sea  trade  and  much  of  the  overland  tratlfic 
from  Southern  Arabia.  This  was  not  fully,  though  often 
partially,  accomplished  between  the  days  of  Solomon  and 
Uzziah.  Edom  was  the  national  pendant  of  a  strong  mon- 
archy to  the  north,  but  it  was  the  home  of  a  resolute  and 
gifted  people,  the  most  cultured  of  the  semi-nomadic  com- 
munities that  bordered  on  Palestine.  No  wars  in  which 
Judah  ever  engaged  approached  those  waged  against  Edom 
in  bitterness  and  persistency.  Edom  was  to  Judah,  in  this 
and  in  other  ways,  what  Damascus  was  to  Northern  Israel. 
§  380.  The  overthrow  of  the  dynasty  of  Omri  and  the 
accession  of  the  line  of  Jehu  mp'-k  a  momentous  epoch  in 
the  fate  of  Israel.  The  worship  of  Baal  was  suppressed 
for  a  time ;  but  that  of  Jehovah  was  not  duly  re-estab- 
lished. Politicall}',  the  revolution  was  a  disastrous  failure. 
Israel  was  weakened,  and  Judah  was  alienated,  to  the  great 
advantage  of  the  Aramaeans.  More  significant  still  was 
Jehu's  submission  to  Shalmaneser  II.  Henceforth  the 
fate  of  Israel  is  inextricably  intertwined  with  that  of 
Assyria.  The  motives  of  the  great  tragedy  now  become 
manifold ;  Israel  is  lifted  out  of  its  petty  narrowness  by 
choosing  a  world-conqueror  for  its  patron,  and  thus  pre- 
pares for  its  own  eventual  effacement.  Jehu's  submission 
did  not  even  secure  respite  to  his  kingdom  from  the  at- 
tacks of  the  Syrians.  Damascus  was  now  at  the  summit 
of  its  power  and  glory.  In  spite  of  intermittent  attacks 
from  the  Assyrians,  its  armies  invaded  and  almost  capt- 
ured Samaria  and  ravaged  the  whole  of  Palestine.  The 
destruction  of  Israel  now  seemed  certain.     But  repeated 


\ 


18 


THE   PROPHETS  AND   SAMAKIA 


Book  VII 


N 


onslaughts  of  the  Assyrians  against  Damascus  succeeded 
at  last.  That  great  fortress  was  taken,  and  Israel  was 
relieved.  Then  followed  the  retirement  of  the  eastern 
invaders,  overwrought  and  weary.  For  half  a  century 
they  remained  inactive.  But  they  had  done  their  work 
upon  Damascus.  Israel  and  Judah  weie  free.  Their 
power  and  prestige  revived,  and  reached  a  breadth  and 
height  undreamed  of  before. 

§  381.  The  first  great  literary  Prophets  illuminate  for 
us  the  last  period  of  the  Northern  Kingdom,  and  reveal  at 
the  same  time  the  shady  side  of  its  transient  era  of  pros- 
perity. Both  from  Amos  and  from  Hosea  we  gather  that 
the  wide  extension  of  dominion  gained  by  Jeroboam  II 
had  but  a  brief  existence.  They  give  us  also  good  reason 
to  think  that  during  his  later  years  he  was  greatly  sur- 
passed in  power  and  prestige  by  Uzziah  of  Judah.  But 
Avhat  is  most  significant  is  the  revelation  we  have  of  the 
essential  unsoundness  of  Israel.  The  end  of  its  troubled 
career,  precipitated  by  assaults  from  without,  Avas  accel- 
erated and  prepared  by  head  and  heart  sickness  within. 
Self-indulgence,  luxury,  and  pride ;  oppressiveness,  greed, 
and  cruelty,  —  these,  with  practical  idolatry,  wei'e  the 
symptoms  of  a  moral  disease  which  must  soon  end  in  dis- 
solution. The  earliest  Prophets  of  Judah  also  turn  their 
far-gleaming  search-light  upon  the  devoted  monarchy,  and 
announce  its  approaching  and  well-merited  doom.  Their 
own  country  is  in  somewhat  similar  case ;  but  the  saving 
renniant  there  may  bear  the  Temple  and  the  house  of 
David  safe  through  the  overwhelming  floods.  For  Sa- 
maria there  is  to  be  no  reprieve.  The  retribution  that 
comes  upon  her  from  without  only  anticipates  the  work 
of  death  carried  on  by  invisible  foes  fondly  cherished 
within  her  own  bosom. 

§  382.  In  the  eighth  century  B.C.,  which  was  the  era 
of  written  Prophecy  in  Israel,  began  also  the  most  impor- 
tant and  far-reaching  political  movements  of  the  ancient 
world.     The   century  which  witnessed   the   founding  of 


Cii.  I,  §  ;J82     THE  ruoriiKTS  and  the  nations 


10 


and 


ie   of 

Sa- 
Ithat 
rork 

era 
Ipor- 
lient 
of 


Rome  and  the  rise  of  Sparta  and  Athens,  Avas  also  signal- 
ized by  the  organization  of  the  Assyrian  empire.  It  was 
no  mere  coincidence  that  Amos  and  Isaiah  appeared  in  the 
same  age  and  in  the  same  historic  region  as  those  which 
produced  Tiglathpileser  III  and  Sargon  II.  In  the  first 
half  of  the  century  Prophec}'  attests  its  political  insight 
by  the  announcement  of  tlie  revival  of  the  languishing 
power  of  Assyria ;  during  the  second  half  that  revival  was 
completel}''  accomplished.  The  idea  of  political  and  mili- 
tary force  Avas  familiar  to  the  Prophets.  They  recognized 
its  mission  in  the  world  as  one  not  wholly  fraught  with 
evil.  It  was  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  Jehovah,  whom 
tliey  acknowledged  and  proclaimed  as  the  God  of  the  whole 
earth.  Their  own  race  and  nation  were  to  feel  its  crush- 
ing weight,  Jehovah's  people  though  they  were,  and 
dwellers  in  Jehovah's  land.  The  Prophets  alone  could 
explain  the  anomaly.  It  was  a  higher  principle  that  was 
claiming  and  vindicating  a  right  to  rule,  the  universal 
principle  of  righteousness,  divine  and  human.  In  its 
majestic  progress  it  would  utilize  the  Assyrian  and  then 
supersede  him.  What  the  earlier  Prophets  had  most  at 
heart  in  their  political  interests  was  the  outcome  of  the 
increasing  complications  between  Israel  and  the  dominating 
power  of  the  empire  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates.  His- 
tory has  ap})roved  their  discrimination,  verified  their  judg- 
ment, and  justified  their  prevision.  The  involution  of 
petty  states  like  Israel  and  Judah  in  the  movements  of  the 
gigantic  power  of  Assyria  was  indeed  a  matter  of  com- 
paratively little  moment  as  a  mere  political  incident.  But 
a  significance  even  larger  than  that  attaching  to  the  deeds 
of  all  world-rulers  was  lent  to  the  fate  of  Israel  by  those 
seers  of  the  race,  who  discerned  behind  and  beneath  all 
these  events  the  outstretched  arm  of  Israel's  God.  Since 
the  fate  of  Israel  was  the  fate  of  Jehovah's  earthly  king- 
dom, its  fortunes  became  of  infinite  moment.  The}^  teach 
us  also  to  look  beneath  the  surface  of  the  current  of 
Asiatic  affairs.     Even  the  monotonous  annals  of  Assyria's 


A^ 


20 


TIGLATIiriLESER   III 


Book  VII 


'  |i 


I 


vainglorious  rulers  now  become  of  importance.  We  read 
there  between  the  lines  the  underlying  motives  that 
guided  their  policy.  These  motives  are  invested  for  us 
with  a  living  interest,  for  they  determined  in  varied  and 
persistent  action  the  destiny  of  Israel.  The  relations  of 
the  subject  states  of  the  empire  to  the  sovereign  power; 
the  conditions  of  protection  or  of  tolerance  on  the  one 
hand,  and  of  repression  or  of  obliteration  on  the  other; 
the  degrees  of  subjection ;  the  civil  and  religious  obliga- 
tions of  the  dependent  peoples,  —  these  conditions,  learned 
from  the  chronicles  of  the  governing  nation,  assume  now 
a  dignity  and  importance  which  in  their  immediate  setting 
they  could  never  deserve.  They  are  brought  close  to  the 
immortal  and  priceless  words  of  the  Prophets  of  Israel, 
and  both  together  furnish  the  key  to  the  history  of  those 
memorable  times. 

§  383.  The  ruler  of  the  new  Assyrian  empire,  when  he 
came  upon  Syria  and  Palestine  soon  after  his  accession, 
found  there  a  changed  condition  of  affairs.  Damascus 
had  in  the  peaceful  interval  recovered  a  part  of  her 
former  strength,  and  all  of  her  old  self-confidence.  Israel 
and  Judah,  so  soon  to  be  divided  in  fate,  were  now  also 
divided  in  spirit  and  in  national  aims  and  interests.  For- 
tune had  dealt  hardly  with  the  Northern  Kingdom.  In  its 
decline,  as  well  as  in  its  beginning,  it  was  torn  asunder 
by  faction,  and  irreparably  weakened  by  internal  violence. 
Dynasties  lasting  a  year  or  less  made  a  suggestive  con- 
trast to  the  unshaken  steadfastness  of  the  "house  of 
David,"  in  the  sister  kingdom.  After  the  permanent  an- 
nexation of  North  and  Middle  Syria,  Tiglathpileser  moved 
upon  Damascus  and  Israel,  since  both  of  them  were  con- 
structively the  derelict  vassals  of  Assyria.  He  was  bought 
off  at  a  heavy  price,  but  returned  four  years  later.  Now 
he  finds  Northern  Israel  in  alliance  with  its  ancient  rival, 
Damascus.  This  portends  a  combination  of  the  south- 
western states  against  the  Assyrian  power,  and  thus 
affords   a   pretext  to   the   invader    for    subjugating    the 


Cir.  I,  §  384 


ISRAEL,   ASSYRIA,   AND   EGYPT 


21 


ien  he 

3ssion, 

fiascus 

f    her 

srael 

also 

For- 

n  its 

under 

ence. 

con- 

of 

an- 

ovecl 

con- 

ught 

Now 

ival, 

»uth- 

thus 

the 


36 


whole.  Judah,  however,  refuses  to  join  the  leao,.e. 
Against  it  the  allies  declare  and  begin  war,  and  are 
joined  by  Edom,  its  vengeful  enemy,  now  again  freed  from 
the  yoke  of  Uzziah.  Ahaz  of  Judah  invokes  the  aid  of 
the  Assyrians  in  opposition  to  the  counsel  of  Isaiah,  whose 
career  as  prophet  and  statesman  is  now  well  begun.  The 
fateful  bargain  is  struck.  Judah  becomes  the  vassal  of 
Assyria,  and  the  great  conqueror  becomes  for  the  time 
its  champion.  It  is  rescued  from  a  doubtful  danger  with 
the  certain  penalty  of  religious  and  political  degradation. 
Damascus,  as  an  ancient  inveterate  rebel,  is  annexed,  and 
many  of  its  people  deported.  Samaria,  as  a  revolted  trib- 
utary, is  shorn  of  half  its  territory.  Its  ruler  is  deposed, 
and  a  successor  appointed  on  rigorous  sufferance. 

§  384.  Other  conquests  bring  all  Palestine  to  look 
upon  Assyria  as  its  suzerain.  The  degree  of  subjection 
varies  from  the  voluntary  vassalage  of  Judah  to  the  com- 
plete incorporation  of  Israel  north  of  Jezreel.  But  in 
general  the  Ninevite  may  take  toll  and  keep  the  peace  as 
far  as  the  borders  of  Egypt.  One  insurrection  more,  and 
the  remnant  of  Israel  will  disappear  from  among  the  na- 
tions. Independent  or  hostile  action  in  Jerusalem  will 
make  of  Judah  a  suspected  and  amerced  instead  of  a 
protected  and  favoured  vassal.  The  fate  of  the  two  He- 
brew communities  is  very  different.  While  Judah  endures 
a  century  and  a  half  longer  as  a  kingdom,  ten  years  make 
up  Samaria's  day  of  grace.  Her  fall  is  hastened  by  a  for- 
eign ally,  wliose  friendship  never  boded  well  for  Palestine. 
The  empire  of  the  Nile  has  a  national  revival  also,  like 
the  empire  of  tlie  Tigris,  and  the  new  Ethiopian  dynasty 
resumes  the  old  interest  in  the  affairs  of  Asia.  The  mo- 
tive, however,  is  largely  the  sense  of  danger  from  a  power 
which  has  already  crippled  Egyi)t  in  her  Arabian  posses- 
sions. Intrigue  against  Assyria  is  actively  set  on  foot  in 
Palestine.  Judah  is  kept  clear  for  a  time  through  the 
counsels  of  Isaiah.  Samaria  ventures  the  last  fatal  step 
after  the  death  of  her  conqueror.     She  is  besieged  by  his 


22 


GKNEHAL   SURVEY 


Book  VII 


short-lived  successor,  and  falls  after  a  three  years'  block- 
ade, sustained  without  the  promised  help  of  Kg3'pt.  With 
the  accession  of  Sargon  II,  the  obliteration  of  the  kingdom 
of  Israel  is  complete.  ^ 

§  385.  We  have  thus  reviewed  in  long  perspective  the 
events  and  conditions  that  gave  to  the  ancient  history  of 
Western  Asia  its  enduring  significance.  We  bear  in  our 
minds  the  image  of  a  multitude  of  petty  nations  rising 
and  falling  struggling  for  existence  or  for  short-lived 
power,  all  of  them  overshadowed  and  absorbed  by  a 
mighty  civilization  and  a  colossal  empire  whose  imperial 
aims  are  pursued  with  the  persistency  of  fate.  Far  from 
the  origino^  seat  of  this  world-ruling  community  a  place  is 
prepared  a  t  >nle  equally  unique  and  potentially  more 
important.     V-  ,e   a   glimpse  of   the  outward  condi- 

tions by  which,  through  stage  after  stage,  this  petty  nation 
was  prepared  "-'■'  grow  int;>  a  type  of  society  higher  than 
any  which  rested  on  forct;  (  ,  culture  alone.  We  have 
observed,  also,  that  this  consecration  of  Israel  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Avorld  only  began  when  the  motives  of  the 
larger  inclusive  history  of  Babylonia  had  long  since  come 
into  play.  We  have  followed  the  development  of  the 
Babylonian  idea,  as  transferred  to  the  empire  of  the  Tigris 
with  its  more  practical  conceptions  of  conquest  and  gov- 
ernment. We  have  traced  the  changeful  fortunes  of  the 
Palestinian  states  till  they  became  meshed  in  the  net  of 
the  Assyrian  spoilers,  till  one  Hebrew  community  is  made 
actually  their  prey,  and  the  other  virtually  their  prisoner. 
The  fate  of  the  Northern  Kingdom  is  decided  forever; 
that  of  the  Southern  not  obscurely  indicated.  Here  we 
are  brought  to  a  pause.  The  problem  of  Israel  is  not  yet 
solved.  We  need  light  for  the  full  understanding  of  the 
past ;  light  also  to  make  plain  the  future.  We  feel  that, 
after  all,  we  have  not  yet  got  to  the  heart  of  the  matter. 
The  events  and  conditions  we  have  noted  seem  to  be 
but  the  limbs  and  outward  flourishes  of  the  subject.  We 
have  seen  to  some  extent  the  "  how  "  of  the  process ;  but 


Cn.  I,  §  380 


THE   TASK  YET   IXCOMl'LETE 


we  cannot  be  satisfied  till  we  also  know  a  little  of  the 
"  why."  We  look  back  over  the  way  we  have  traversed, 
and  we  recognize  many  peaks  and  ridges,  large  and  small, 
that  serve  us  well  as  reminders  and  guides.  But  these  are 
something  more  than  mere  historical  landmarks.  They 
are  the  results  and  tokens  of  movements  below  the  sur- 
face, where  hidden  forces  have  been  working  throughout 
the  ages.  It  may  be  given  to  us  to  lay  bare  the  founda- 
tions of  these  everlasting  hills  of  Providence  ;  to  find  the 
basal  granite ;  perhaps  also  to  follow  the  lines  of  local 
disturbance,  to  trace  out  the  causes  and  to  measure  the 
force  of  such  monumental  upheavals.  To  set  aside  the 
figures,  it  is  proper,  and  indeed  necessary,  to  search  out 
the  workings  of  the  inner  life  of  Israel,  of  which  the  out- 
ward movements  and  events  and  conditions  have  revealed 
themselves  to  us  as  the  symptoms.  We  must  see,  if  possi- 
ble, liow  the  social  and  political  structure  of  Israel  arose ; 
how  the  external  organization  came  to  be  the  expression 
of  characteristic  underlying  causes  and  principles;  how 
the  intellectual  and  religious  habits  and  productions  of 
the  people  were  the  embodiment  of  sentiments  proper  to 
them  and  to  them  alone;  how  their  distinctively  Hebraic 
elements  were  differentiated  from  the  antecedent  Semitic 
inheritance  of  usage  and  belief;  how  Israel  alone  among 
the  ancient  peoples  of  the  earth  was  admitted  into  the 
holy  place  of  essential  and  everlasting  truth  in  the  supreme 
region  of  morals  and  religion.  If  the  tale  already  told  is 
worth  the  telling,  much  more  memorable  is  the  unfolding 
of  the  higher  issues  yet  to  be  related. 

§  386.  In  making  once  more  an  exclusive  claim  for 
Israel's  history  and  religion,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to 
restate,  with  some  emphasis  and  particularity,  the  canon 
of  historical  proportion  which  has  been  followed  in  the 
present  essay  (§  16).  In  the  checkered  history  of  the 
North  Semitic  states  the  fortunes  of  Israel  furnish  the  dom- 
inant motive  and  the  guiding  thread.  This  is  their  func- 
tion, not  so  much  on  account  of  their  immediate  importance 


24 


CANON  OF   HISTORICAL   PROPORTION        Book  VII 


I 


11 


I    ; 


or  intrinsic  interest,  as  by  reason  of  their  implication  in 
movements  of  mind  and  spirit  which  have  transcended  all 
national  and  ethnical  limitations.  It  is  not  the  fortunes 
of  nations  and  races  in  themselves  that  engage  our  most 
earnest  attention;  it  is  rather  the  progress  of  a  national 
idea  invested  with  perpetual  and  universal  significance. 
In  like  manner  the  surviving  illustrative  materials,  chief 
of  which  are  "  Prophecy  and  the  Monuments,"  perform 
their  most  signal  service  to  '■'  History,"  the  one  by  indicat- 
ing the  inner  moral  import  of  passing  events,  the  other  by 
showing  us  more  clearly  their  causal  relations.  So  also 
the  great  landmarks  of  our  historical  survey  have  their 
prominence  lent  them,  not  by  their  direct  political  impor- 
tance as  occasions  or  effects  of  external  changes,  but  by 
their  significance  in  the  chain  of  causes  that  gave  ampler 
range  and  freer  scope  to  the  true  missioi  i  of  Israel  among 
the  nations. 

§  387.  Of  the  justness  of  these  distinctions,  our  present 
standpoint  for  review  furnishes  striking  illustration.  It 
is  not  merely  the  consequences  of  the  fall  of  Samaria  to 
the  ruling  peoples  of  the  time  which  mark  it  out  as  a 
monumental  epoch.  As  we  shall  have  occasion  to  see, 
the  empires  of  Assyria  and  Egypt  were  affected  in  some 
measure  by  the  extinction  of  Northern  Israel.  And  yet, 
important  as  were  the  immediate  results  of  the  conquest 
of  Samaria,  it  appears,  when  viewed  in  historical  perspec- 
tive, to  be  a  comparatively  slight  incident  in  the  mighty 
struggle  for  the  dominion  of  Western  Asia.  The  relations 
of  Assyria  and  Egypt  with  the  ill-fated  monarchy  were 
primarily  military  and  diplomatic,  and,  therefore,  in  the 
main  of  an  external  character,  affecting  only  for  a  time 
the  troubled  currents  of  Asiatic  affairs.  A  higher  signifi- 
cance is  given  to  Samaria  in  its  fall  when  viewed  in  con- 
nection with  its  own  tragic  history  and  with  the  doubtful 
fortunes  of  the  surviving  Hebrew  state.  Yet  here  again 
we  must  go  below  the  surface  for  the  deeper  meaning  of 
the  memorable  story.     It  was  not  merely  or  chiefly  the 


ji 


it 


Cii.  I,  §  387 


ISKAEL'S  TRUK   IMPORTANCE 


26 


■esent 
I.  It 
•ia  to 
as  a 
see, 
some 

yet, 

[uest 
spec- 
ghty 
ions 
iVere 
the 
irne 
nifi- 
icon- 
tful 
aiii 
of 
the 


political  consequences  to  Judah  of  the  course  of  events  in 
the  Northern  Kingdom  which  made  the  ruin  of  the  hirger 
state  so  fateful  to  the  smaller,  and  so  exemplary  to  all 
communities  of  men  in  the  coming  ages.  In  the  little 
world  of  the  sister  kingdom  the  ill-learned  lessons  of  Sama- 
ria's fate  were  soon  forgotten  in  the  tasks  and  obligations 
of  its  own  hard  servitude,  and  in  the  throes  of  its  own 
impending  dissolution.  Only  the  unforgetting  sentinels 
on  the  nation's  watch-towers  kept  looking  back  witli  fond 
regrets  over  the  two  centuries  of  separation,  or  cherished 
alluring  visions  of  a  reunited  Israel.  And  these  same 
events  in  Israel's  history  would  soon  have  faded  out  from 
the  records  and  the  memory  of  our  race  if  they  liad  not 
been  set  in  the  light  of  a  larger  illuminating  principle. 
The  informing  divine  idea  in  the  career  of  Israel  gives 
lasting  importance  only  to  those  political  transactions  which 
illustrate  its  own  vindication,  its  tardy  recognition,  and 
the  lirst  steps  of  its  sure  progress  towards  unchallenged 
supremacy.  The  intimate  associations  and  subtle  inter- 
actions of  Northern  and  Southern  Israel,  springing  from 
community  of  origin,  of  worship,  and  of  traditions,  would, 
to  be  sure,  in  any  case,  have  been  worthy  of  the  attention 
of  the  later  ages.  But  the  story  of  other  peoples  also  is 
full  of  moving  human  interest;  and  the  fates  of  colossal 
empires  and  civilizations  would  have  so  overshadowed  the 
petty  fortunes  of  Israel,  that  its  records,  if  surviving  at 
all,  would  have  attracted  little  regard  except  from  arcluc- 
ological  or  sociological  research.  It  is  the  dominating 
moral  issues  of  this  people's  fortunes  that  have  transferred 
its  struggles  and  achievements  to  a  higher  region  than  that 
of  state-craft  and  war,  have  brought  them  into  play  U[)on 
a  Avider  arena,  and  have  endowed  them  with  a  more  endui-- 
ing  potency.  Vitalized  by  the  world-moving  seers  of  the 
chosen  race,  they  have,  with  an  energy  continually  trans- 
muted and  yet  perpetually  accelerated,  given  impulse  and 
direction  to  the  forces  of  history.  And  their  unrelaxing 
momentum  is  felt  to-day  more  strongly  than  ever  in  the 


20 


TlIK    UEAL    I'UOBLKM  OF  TIIK   IIISTOUY     B(.ok  VII 


4       , 


I  f 


surging  and  beating  of  the  restless  tide  of  human  thought 
and  endeavour. 

)5  388.  Such  reflections  remind  us  of  the  unique  char- 
acter of  the  task  upon  which  we  have  ventured.  They  also 
suggest  to  us  in  what  spirit  and  temper  and  with  what 
mental  attitude  we  should  approach  the  subject.  We 
have  before  us  a  series  of  complex  historical  and  social 
phenomena,  in  which  it  is  not  always  easy  to  find  uni- 
fying principles.  Viewed  broadly,  however,  we  have  to 
do  with  two  communities,  the  Northern  and  Southern 
Kingdoms  of  Israel,  which  arose  from  a  nominal  union 
of  tribes  and  clans.  AVe  have  paused  in  the  narrative 
of  their  outward  fortunes  at  the  point  where  an  aggres- 
sive and  all-conquering  empire  has  effaced  one  of  them 
from  among  the  nations  and  made  the  other  its  vassal. 
The  fate  of  both  is  contained  implicitly  in  the  con- 
ditions with  which  they  began  their  career  among  the 
peoples.  As  well  as  we  can,  therefore,  we  have  to 
learn  how  the  people  of  Israel  used  their  resources  and 
opportunities,  and  fulfilled  their  responsibilities,  from  the 
beginning  of  their  settlement  in  Canaan  till  they  reached 
this  period,  so  fatal  and  so  critical.  Primarily,  we  have  to 
do  with  one  people,  and  not  with  two.  But  the  causes  of 
the  separation  run  far  back,  and  are  in  a  sense  funda- 
mental ;  and  now  we  have  come  to  a  point  where  they 
are  parted  forever.  Looking  behind  from  this  epoch, 
and  again  returning  to  it,  we  are  inevitably  more  pre- 
occupied with  the  Northern  Kingdom,  which  has  played 
the  greater  part  and  now  has  vanished  from  the  stage 
of  history.  In  dealing  with  its  career,  moral  judgments 
are  specially  appro^jriate.  We  are  called  upon  to  sum- 
marize the  causes  that  led  to  its  decline  and  fall,  to 
trace  the  progress  of  the  inner  motives  that  determined 
its  destiny,  and  to  estimate  the  character  and  value  of  the 
political  and  moral  legacy  which  it  bequeathed  to  the  sur- 
viving nations.  The  task  should  not  be  fruitless,  for  the 
"  kingdom  of  the  Ten  Tribes  "  furnishes  within  its  brief 


sum- 
to 

ined 
the 
sur- 

-  the 

brief 


Cn.  I,  §389      THE   lUGIlT  ClilTERlUN   OF  JUDGMENT  *J7 

compass  of  time  and  space  the  most  favourable  of  all 
conditions  for  prolitable  liistorical  study.  It  was  in 
many  striking  features,  which  are  presented  to  us  with 
exceptional  fulness,  almost  a  complete  epitome  of  an 
Oriental  kingdom,  and  thus  it  offers  a  rare  field  for  the 
student  of  ancient  politics.  But  it  was  typical  and  rep- 
resentative of  much  wider  and  more  important  human 
relations.  Perhaps  in  the  history  of  no  other  people  of 
antiquity  are  the  fundamental  lessons  of  social  and  politi- 
cal morality  so  obvious,  so  luminously  illustrated  by  con- 
crete examples,  or  so  sharply  and  urgently  enforced  by 
contemporary  teachers.  What  is  true  of  the  Northern 
is  also  true  largely  of  the  Southern  Kingdom,  since  they 
never  ceased  to  be  one  people,  and  in  the  largest  aspect 
they  present  but  one  great  problem.  The  practical  dis- 
tinction is  that  the  r81e  of  Judah  is  at  this  point  of  time 
still  unfinished,  indeed  not  more  than  well  begun,  that  it 
soon  becomes  relatively  much  more  important,  and  that  it 
will  have  to  come  up  again  for  final  review. 

§  389.  Tlie  reader  will  mark  that  we  are  not  setting  up 
any  special  exalted  standard  of  national  and  civic  virtue 
according  to  which  this  moral  outcome  of  Israel's  history 
is  to  be  valued.  A  judgment  based  upon  such  an  ex- 
ceptional and  invidious  criterion  would  be  invalid  and 
inconclusive  to  the  enlightened  modern  mind.  The 
achievements  and  failures  of  Israel  are  to  be  judged  like 
those  of  other  communities.  We  must  ask  whether  its 
resources  were  utilized  or  squandered,  whether  its  respon- 
sibilities were  accepted  or  evaded,  whether  its  ideals  Avere 
cultivated  and  cherished  or  renounced  and  discarded.  It 
will  also  not  be  forgotten  in  the  summing  up  that  while 
the  historian  may  point  out  the  causes  of  success  or  failure 
in  national  life,  it  is  not  his  duty  to  praise  or  to  censure. 
It  is  his  part  to  recognize  conditions  of  national  growth  and 
decay  as  well  as  to  observe  their  results,  and  to  set  forth 
the  determining  causes  of  the  one  and  the  other  in  the 
political  and  also  in  the  ethical  sphere.     But  the  personal 


28 


AN   EimOU   TO   Bi:   AVUIDEI) 


Book  VII 


'in  < 


I!f 


If    "I 


■■    1 


I 


I  'i 


enforcement  of  the  lessons  is  left  to  the  preacher  and  the 
essayist.  To  them  is  remitted  the  task  of  a[>|)lying  the 
conclusions  of  the  history  of  the  past  to  the  problems  and 
obligations  of  the  present,  as  also  of  determining  the  worth 
of  our  modern  civilization  and  morality  as  compared  with 
the  achievements  and  failures  of  ancient  Israel.^  And  yet 
we  must  not  forget  that  the  great  issues  of  Israel's  career 
were  primarily  moral  and  only  secondarily  political,  and 
that  therefore  the  judgments  of  the  historian  upon  the  out- 
come of  the  history  must  be  based  upon  moral  standards. 

§  390.  Mistakes  and  misconceptions  are  here  very 
easily  made,  but  at  least  one  very  natural  and  very  com- 
mon error  we  must  avoid.  We  cannot  with  any  sort  of 
justice  or  propriety  transfer  mechanically  the  ethical 
ideals  and  requirements  of  our  Christianized  and  enlight- 
ened age  to  the  social  and  personal  conditions  of  these 
early  peoples.  It  is  perhaps  even  harder  to  surround  our- 
selves in  imagination  with  the  social  and  moral  atmosphere 
of  the  distant  past  than  it  is  to  appreciate  its  remoteness 
from  us  in  conditions  intellectual  or  material.  But  it  is 
just  as  necessary  in  the  one  sphere  as  in  the  other.  In  all 
things  we  must  cultivate  the  historical  spirit.  We  must 
not  only  have  the  past  brought  before  us,  but  we  must 
learn  to  see  it  clearly.  It  should  be  not  merely  an  exhi- 
bition, but  a  revelation.  It  is  a  great  gift  to  us,  the  heirs 
of  all  the  ages,  that  Oriental  antiquity  has  been  disen- 
tombed, resurrected,  and  brought  into  our  very  presence. 
But  it  is  a  gift  equally  great  to  have  eyes  to  discern  the 
inner  movements  that  made  its  history,  and  hearts  to  feel 
for  the  struggles  and  sufferings,  and  failures  too,  of  those 
who,  in  the  time  and  within  the  sphere  assigned  them  by 
Providence,  lived  and  wrought  for  us  as  well  as  for  them- 

1  How  our  Christian  civilization  actually  compares  in  some  essential 
points  of  morality  with  the  condition  of  things  among  the  ancient  Hebrews 
is  suggestively  set  foith  in  an  article  in  The  Thinker  of  September,  189-1 
(vol.  vi,  p.  220  f.),  by  Kev.  W.  P.  Paterson,  B.D.,  entitled,  "The  Politics 
of  the  Prophets." 


I 


I 


Cii.  1,  S  ■m         TIIH   nvK   UISTOKICAI,  SHIMT  „ 

selves      It  would   be   lamentable  "M^^TlTiA^T^ 
su-,-e,l  up  to  »ou,etl,i„g  n„„e  tl,u„  a  l.ugui,!  iutere"  u 
tl.e  .„o.t  „,»truelive  „f  „I1  national  histories,  we  sIk  n 
exehange  the  indifferent  glance  of  ignoranee  tor  tl 
-•.Mn.,ng  survey  „f  pharisaie  self-coniplacency,  or  that  we 

glasses  of  fas  notiaWe  or  traditional  prejudice.      Know, 
ledge  ,s  the  telescope  that  brings  this    eg  on  of  antinu"  v 
."  o  vew;  but  sympathy,  intellectual  and  n.oraTe 
ub  e  ethereal  n.ediun,  through  which  we  gain  a    rre  i" 
.ght  nto  .ts  essential  character.     And  since  we  are  bou    I 
bj  .udmoluble  spiritual  bonds  to  this  very  peorde  o^  Isn 
.    .»  certan,  that  if  we  fail  to  do  justice  to'thL,  we  Xu 
tireby  prove  our  incapacity  to  do  justice  to  on -selve 
ou    relafons  to  the  n.oral   obligations   of  our  ow     ttnc 

Ha     air  ""  '"  '"''"''  ""''  "''  '"- 


1-  lt 


I  •: 


j.)  , 


li 

r  ■< 


i\\ 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    ELEMENTS    AND    CHARACTER    OF    HEBREW    SOCIETY 

§  391.  What,  then,  were  the  occasions  and  conditions 
of  Israel's  rise,  progress,  and  decline  ?  We  may  naturally 
divide  them  into  causes  internal  and  causes  external. 
Thus  far,  since  our  attention  has  mainly  been  directed  to 
the  actual  events  of  .the  history,  we  have  had  to  dwell 
somewhat  unduly  upon  the  external  motives  and  influ- 
ences which  were  largely  connected  with  the  political 
eavironment  of  Israel.  Now  it  will  be  proper  to  dwell 
more  upon  the  inner  life  and  intrinsic  qualities  of  the 
people.  The  whole  subject  of  the  political  vicissitudes  of 
Israel,  and  of  the  moral  and  religious  issues  so  intimately 
associated  therewith,  will  become  clearer  if  we  can  succeed 
in  getting  an  adequate  conception  of  the  processes  of  the 
social  and  corporate  development  of  the  people.  We  have 
to  begin  this  task  by  a  reference  to  the  general  statements 
that  were  made  (§  31  ff.)  in  connection  with  the  discussion 
of  the  founding  of  civic  institutions  among  the  Semitic 
j)eoples.  These  observations  we  shall  need  to  amplify  and 
supplement  with  some  care  and  detail.  The  first  essential 
step  is  to  define  the  several  terms  which  are  employed  to 
designate  the  various  aggregations  of  the  people,  larger  or 
smaller.  One  remark  it  may  be  well  to  make  at  the  out- 
set. We  will  do  well  to  remember  that  the  English  words 
used  to  translate  the  Hebrew  technical  expressions  are  not 
necessarily  the  exact  equivalents  of  the  same  words  used 
to  describe  ancient  divisions  among  the  peoples  of  Europe, 
Greek,  Latin,  Teutonic,  Slavic,  or  Keltic,  or  contempora- 

30 


Cn.  II,  §  392 


IIKBREW  UNIVERSALITY 


8t 


iieous  communities  among  the  less  civilized  races  of  man- 
kind. Each  race  h^s  its  own  social  instincts,  and  its  own 
distinctive  types  of  domestic  as  well  as  of  political  life. 
The  handling  of  these  special  matters,  and  the  study  of 
the  aspects  of  ancient  life  generally,  require  a  just  attitude 
of  mind  and  a  right  method. 

§  392.  To  understand  aright  the  distant  past  we  must 
learn  to  live  in  it.  Every  nation  in  every  age  has  an 
atmosphere  of  thought  and  feeling  of  its  own  distinct 
from  every  other.  Its  manners  and  customs,  its  political 
and  social  features,  its  views  of  this  world  and  the  next, 
its  beliefs  and  prejudices,  can  only  be  appreciated  by  us 
if  we  study  them  from  the  point  of  view  of  those  who 
lived  under  these  institutions  and  were  controlled  by  these 
ideas.  Broadly  speaking,  our  knowledge  of  ancient  na- 
tions and  civilizations  comes  to  us  through  their  surviv- 
ing literary  monuments.  The  readiness  and  aptitude  with 
which  we  appreciate  the  life  and  genius  of  any  ancient 
community  depend  upon  several  conditions,  not  only  in 
ourselves,  but  also  in  the  people  with  which  we  may  be 
dealing.  Speaking  generally,  tlie  more  human  and  univer- 
sal the  literature  of  anyjiation,  the  more  quickly  and  deeply 
it  enters  into  our  minds  and  hearts.  Among  all  ancient 
literatures  there  is  none  so  human  and  so  universal  as  that 
of  tlie  ancient  Hebrews,  including,  of  course,  the  New 
Testament  as  well  as  the  Old.  The  experiences  recorded 
in  it  seem  more  like  wliat  is  either  habitual  or  possible 
to  ourselves  than  those  embodied  in  any  other  ancient  rec- 
ords or  memoirs.  The  ideals  which  it  exhi])its,  illustrates, 
and  enforces  are  more  inspiring,  l^etter  worth  realizing,  and 
at  the  same  time  more  attainable,  than  those  set  forth 
])y  any  other  intellectual  or  spiritual  masters.  As  a 
matter  of  course,  then,  its  language  is  more  homely,  more 
translucent,  more  intelligible,  than  that  of  other  writings  of 
antiquity.  All  this  implies  that  the  ideas  with  wliich  the 
literature  of  Israel  is  conversant  are  not  foreign  to  those 
of  modern  life,  and,  at  the  same  time,  not  so  complex  as 


■: 


32 


SPECIFIC   HEBRAISM 


Book  VII 


those  which  are  the  product  of  other  civilizations.  More 
specifically,  in  relation  to  our  special  theme,  it  is  to  ])e 
said  that  the  institutions,  domestic,  civil,  and  religious,  of 
the  Hebrews  are  simple  and  comprehensible  to  a  degree 
quite  unique.  Otherwise  we  could  never,  so  to  speak,  have 
naturalized  or  domesticated  the  Bible.  Otherwise  we 
could  never  have  brought  it  home  to  our  hearts  and  lives. 
For  the  distinctive  phraseology  of  the  Bible  is  not  merely 
coloured  by  the  institutions,  human  and  divine,  of  the 
Hebrew  people ;  it  is  actually  founded  upon  them.  The 
language  of  a  people  is  the  reflex  of  its  religious  and 
political,  its  social  and  domestic  life,  of  its  habitual  mode 
of  thinking  and  acting.  The  language  of  an  ancient  and 
primitive  people  is  almost  immediately  expressive  of  its 
peculiar  institutions ;  the  stamp  has  not  yet  been  worn  off 
from  its  intellectual  and  moral  currency  by  the  long  and 
debasing  friction  of  tlie  world's  exchange.  There  are 
certain  characteristic  Biblical  terms,  the  mention  of  which 
brings  us  right  at  once  into  the  midst  of  the  religious  and 
social  life  of  Israel  —  words  like  covenant,  sacrifice,  sanct- 
uary, tabernacle,  prophet,  priest ;  tribe,  family ;  father, 
mother,  brother;  master,  servant;   teacher,  disciple. 

§  393.  When  such  expressions  as  these  occur  to  our 
minds,  we  feel  that  we  may  have  by  their  means  a  grasp 
upon  the  thought  and  life  of  Israel  more  strong  and  sure 
than  that  by  which  we  apprehend  the  mental  and  moral 
characteristics  of  any  other  ancient  community.  But  this 
consideration  of  itself  impels  us  to  inquire  into  the  exact 
force  and  significance  of  such  terms.  We  have  observed 
how  obvious  and  how  easy  of  apprehension  these  phrases 
are  in  their  general  import.  And  yet  they  are  distinctively 
and  genuinely  Hebrew,  sprung  from  the  soil  and  climate 
of  Israel.  Each  of  these  terms  has  had  a  special  history 
of  its  own,  involved  in  the  larger  history  of  Israel  itself. 
What  we  call  the  usage  or  signification  of  words  is  simply 
the  resultant  of  this  history,  the  gathered  and  treasured 
associations  of  thousands  of  utterances,  of  endless  differ- 


Cm.  II,  §  304 


TERMS  AND  ASSOCIATIONS 


33 


self, 
iiply 
ured 
iffer- 


entiations  of  thought  and  feeling.  And  the  history  of 
such  terms  in  the  language  of  the  Bible  is  necessarily 
different  from  tlie  history  of  the  corresponding  terms  in 
our  own  language,  by  as  much  as  the  history  of  our 
political,  social,  and  religious  institutions  has  differed 
from  tliat  of  the  Hebrew  people.  Words  are  a  kind  of 
spiritual  phonograph.  Eveiy  new  association,  each  added 
shade  of  meaning  which  they  commemorate,  is  an  im^Dres- 
sion  made  upon  and  recorded  in  the  most  delicate  and  en- 
during of  all  the  instruments  or  appliances  of  mind  and 
soul,  —  human  speech.  And  the  more  intense  and  profound 
the  thought  and  the  feeling  of  any  people,  the  more  fully 
ciiarged  will  its  vocabulary  be  with  sentiment  and  emotion. 
The  Bible  is  the  richest  repository  of  moral  and  religious 
experience.  But  the  distinctive  phrases  which  give  colour 
and  character  to  its  diction  were  based  upon  the  inner  life 
of  the  people,  and  became  ever  more  imbued  with  its 
spirit  and  flavour  as  the  community  changed  and  devel- 
oped in  its  checkered  history.  It  is  the  high  function 
of  linguistic  and  archaeological  research,  as  it  turns  the 
sacred  roll,  to  make  those  long  silent  voices  live  again, 
to  reawaken  and  bring  once  more  to  human  ears  these 
slumbering  "accents  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

§  394.  We  are  now  to  occupy  a  few  paragraphs  with 
an  inquiry  into  the  usage  of  the  leading  social  and  domes- 
tic terms  of  Hebrew  literature.  From  some  such  study 
we  may  now  see  how  we  incidentally  should  gain  a  fuller 
and  clearer  sense  of  the  value  of  these  terms  in  their  appli- 
cation to  moral  and  spiritual  facts  and  ideas  in  the  Bible 
itself.  We  shall  accordingly  not  confine  ourselves  entirely 
to  a  discussion  of  the  literal  and  every-day  significance  of 
the  words  that  denote  relationship  and  corporate  associa- 
tion among  the  Hebrews.  Such  words  as  tribe,  fdmily, 
father,  mother,  brother,  servant,  really  play  a  more  impor- 
tant part  in  the  sacred  writings  in  their  figurative  usage 
than  in  their  literal  application.  They  are  the  familiar 
diction  of  the  higher  Hebrew  literature — the  Prophets, 


f 


-\\ 


\  I 


84 


SPIRITUALITY  OF   SOCIAL  TERMS 


Book  VII 


the  Psalms,  and  the  New  Testament.  Through  them  the 
ever-widening  conceptions  of  the  moral  and  spiritual  realm 
have  achieved  their  eternal  currency.  They  furnish  the 
terminology  of  the  new  community,  the  greater  Israel,  the 
kingdom  of  Gotl.  In  dealing  with  these  later  and  fuller 
aspects  of  such  fundamental  phraseology,  we  do  not  pass 
beyond  the  legitimate  range  of  our  subject.  Just  as  the 
Hebrew  literature  itself  is  a  single  undivided  whole,  so 
the  institutions  which  it  commemorates,  and  of  which  it  is 
so  largely  the  outcome,  have  had  an  unbroken  pi'ogre.ssive 
history.  The  passage  from  the  outward  and  material,  in 
the  social  and  religious  sphere,  to  the  inward  and  spiritual, 
was  not  sudden  and  unprepared,  but  gradual  and  orderly. 
We  must  regard  the  simple,  primitive  social  and  domestic 
institutions  of  Israel  not  merely  as  types  and  symbols  of 
that  higher  organism  Avhicli  has  followed  and  superseded 
it.  They  furnished  also  in  large  measure  its  conditions, 
its  groundwork,  and  its  germinal  elements.  Accordingly, 
when  we  think,  for  example,  of  the  spiritual  application  of 
"fatherhood,"  "brotherhood,"  "service,"  we  can,  on  the 
one  hand,  only  understand  their  Biblical  significance  when 
we  have  discovered  what  they  stood  for  in  the  sphere  of 
social  life ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  we  have  a  better  appre- 
hension of  what  such  relationships  really  involved  in  the 
ancient  Hebrew  community  when  we  have  traced  out  the 
wide  and  profound  symbolism  given  to  them  by  the  poets 
and  seers  of  the  race. 

§  395.  The  foregoing  paragraphs  have  already  sug- 
gested to  us  where  we  are  to  look  for  most  of  our  infor- 
mation as  to  the  social  and  domestic  life  of  the  ancient 
Hebrews.  Direct  knowledge  comes  to  us  almost  wholly 
from  the  classical  literature  of  the  people.  The  Bible  tells 
us  all  that  we  know  of  the  outward  forms  of  their  insti- 
tutions, and  almost  all  that  we  can  learn  of  their  social 
usages,  as  well  as  of  the  influences  which  were  at  work  in 
their  upbuilding  as  a  people.  From  our  familiarity  with 
the  sacred  writings  we  have  thus  perhaps  gained  a  some- 


I' 


Ch.  II,  §  395 


ANALOGOUS  INSTITUTIONS 


what  one-sided  view,  as  in  other  matters  (§  16),  of  the 
character  and  genius  of  the  ancient  life  of  the  Hel)rews. 
We  are  inclined  to  think  of  them  as  a  unique  people  in  all 
respects ;  or,  at  least,  to  draw  a  broad  line  of  separation 
between  them  and  every  other  communit}'.  A  brief  remi- 
niscence of  the  book  of  Genesis  will  recall  every  observant 
Bible  reader  at  once  from  his  error.  It  is  obvious,  at  least, 
that  the  Hebrews  must  have  maintained  to  a  large  extent 
the  social  habits  and  traditions  of  the  peoples  from  whom 
they  sprang  (§  2G).  We  have,  as  was  above  suggested 
(§  393),  to  insist  upon  and  minutely  register  the  distinct- 
ive features  of  Hebrew  sociology.  But  the  ever-increas- 
ing divergence  of  the  tribes  of  Isi'ael  from  their  progenitors 
and  kindred,  which  gave  them  their  characteristic  stamp 
in  human  society,  did  not  sunder  them  from  the  general 
Semitic  type,  least  of  all  from  the  tribes  and  families  near- 
est of  kin.  And  we  must  go  much  further  than  this  in 
reckoning  up  analogies  for  the  early  social  and  political 
life  of  the  Hebrews,  as  well  as  in  gathering  illustrations 
of  their  tribal  and  national  manners.  We  shall  need  to 
remember  that  a  surprising  likeness  has  always  prevailed, 
and  still  prevails,  throughout  the  world  in  the  general 
features  of  tribal  life,  especially  among  nomadic  peoples, 
and  also  among  communities  that  are  passing  the  earlier 
years  of  their  fixed  settlement  in  towns  and  villages. 
Accordingly,  while  guarding  against  absolute  assimilation 
of  Semitic  conditions  to  those  of  non-Semitic  peoples,  we 
may  find  the  rudimentary  features  of  primitive  Hebrew 
life  variously  illustrated  from  extraneous  sources,  and  more 
particularly  from  the  genius  and  habits  of  the  early  Greek 
and  Keltic  communities.  Within  the  Semitic  region  the 
stereotyped  tribal  constitution  of  the  nomads  of  Arabia 
furnishes  a  nearer  and  more  instructive  parallel. ^ 


1  For  the  typical  tribal  conditions  of  Arabian  societj',  sec  J.  L.  Rurok- 
Iiardt,  Bedouins  nml  Wahabys  (Engl.  tr.  1831);  A.  von  Krenicr,  Geschichte 
der  hnrscht'mh'H  Idcen  des  Islams  (1868),  p.  343  fl.  ;  Culturgeschkhte 
des  Orients  (1875-7),  vol.  i,  cli.  iii ;   vol.  ii,  clis.  iii,  vi;   W.  Uobcrtsou 


Y 


■ffW^iiWi^iWBiP^ra^ 


wm^m 


mm 


SOCIAL  TERMINOLOGY 


Book  VII 


§  396.  The  two  words  tran.slated  tribe  and  its  equiva- 
lents in  the  versions  ancient  and  modern,  usf  and  nuo,* 
are  identical  in  usage  in  the  Hebrew,  except  that  the  for- 
mer is  also  significantly  used  for  the  principal  subdivisions 
of  the  tribe  (Numb.  iv.  18;  Jud.  xx.  12;  IS.  ix.  21). 
As  preceding  and  conditioning  the  tribe  was  the  chm  or 
sept  (Lat.  (jens,  Gr.  </>/3aT/3ta,  etc.),  expressed  properly  by 
s^'rx,  literally,  a  community  or  association  (E.  V.  "  thou- 
sand," which  the  \A'ord  in  question  also  signifies).  The 
same  organization  1;=  also  often  indicated  by  nnecfa,^  which, 
however,  is  the  strictly  correct  term  for  the  subordinate 
social  division  of  the  kin  or  family  group.  Preceding  and 
underlying  the  clan,  in  the  simpler  forms  of  society,  is  this 
family  group,  which  is  made  up  of  the  individual  families 
or  "  father's  houses  "  (ax  rrr,  pi.  ms«  rrr).  As  we  shall 
have  to  distinguish  sharply  between  the  family  group  and 
the  clan,  we  may  here  note  the  chief  external  difference. 
The  family  group  implies  different  degrees  of  relationship, 
and  in  it  the  degree  of  kinship  is  fundamental.  In  the 
clan,  on  the  other  hand,  which  consists,  fundamentally,  of 
individuals,  and  not  of  families,  degrees  of  kinship  are  dis- 
regarded, or  are,  at  least,  secondary;  and  kinship  itself  is 
only  assumed  to  be  present,  the  uniting  bond  being  really 
the  associations  of  custom  and  belief.     As  the  "father's 


Smith,  Kinship  in  Earhj  Arabia  (1885).  For  the  early  Greeks,  see 
especially  Meyer,  GA.  II  (189.3),  §  6.3  ff.  For  general  discussions  one 
may  consult  C.  N.  Starclie,  The  Primitive  Family  (New  York,  Appletons, 
1889);  L.  11.  Morgan,  Ancient  Soriet;/  (1877),  and  the  articles  "Clan" 
and  "Family"  in  the  iS'HCy<"^  liritannica.  Most  ethnological  and  anthro- 
pological works  of  a  systematic  character  give  inform.ation,  often  of  the 
very  highest  value,  on  social  conditions  among  savage  and  nomadic 
tribes.    Special  discussions  will  be  cited  further  on. 

^  In  the  so-called  "  Priestly  Code  "  n::-;  is  the  favourite  term.  For 
references,  see  Siegfried  and  Stade,  Ilebr.  ]Vorterbiich,  s.v. 

2  In  these  cases  the  clan  is  alluded  to  from  the  point  of  view  of  origin  ; 
whereas  i'^n  characterizes  it  as  an  organization.  Accordingly  we  find  that 
the  latter  furnislies  a  special  designation  for  the  chief  or  leader  of  the 
clan,  the  ii^.s  (E.  V.  "duke").  Observe  that  when  the  clans  of  the 
Edomites  came  to  inhabit  "  cities,"  the  ii*7n  was  transformed  into  a  -f^z  or 
"king"  (Gen.  xxxvi.  :)1  If.  ;  cf.  §  36). 


? 


Cn.  II,  §  396      CLAN,   HOUSEHOLD,  AND  FAMILY 


37 


llS- 

is 


3ns, 


the 
Idic 


!or 


tin; 
Ihat 
Ithe 
Ithe 
or 


house"  is  a  subdivision  of  the  family  group,  it  is  properly 
used  (as  in  Gen.  xxiv.  40)  to  designate  those  most  nearly 
related  by  blood,  or  the  "  family  "  in  the  modern  sense  of 
the  word.  On  the  other  hand,  the  "household"  (r"r 
alone)  includes,  like  its  equivalent,  the  Latin  familut,  the 
servitors  and  retainers  of  the  establishment,  and  is,  within 
its  sphere,  and  after  its  fashion,  the  real  administrative  or 
political  unit.  It  stands  under  the  control  of  the  house- 
father, the  protector  or  guardian,  who  is  usually,  though 
not  necessarily,  the  father  of  the  kindred  contained  in  it. 
It  must,  accordingly,  not  be  supposed  that  the  clan  was 
constituted  by  the  voluntary  binding  together  of  single 
families.^  Politically,  the  family,  in  the  modern  sense  of 
the  word,  never  formed  an  entity  in  the  primitive  com- 
munity. Among  unorganized  hordes,  we  find,  to  be  sure, 
no  aggregation  higher  than  the  family.  But  this  is,  natu- 
rally, merely  a  social  institution,  since,  among  such  peoples 
as  the  Bushmen  of  South  Africa,  political  life  is  still  unde- 
veloped. From  a  political  point  of  view,  separate  family 
life  is  inconceivable  in  any  stage  of  society.  A  clan, 
viewed  externally,  may  be  thus  provisionally  assumed  to 

1  It  does  not  seem  to  be  yet  fully  made  out  whether  the  earliest  clans 
gradually  came  into  being  as  organizations  through  association  of  indi- 
viduals already  members  of  families,  or  whether  they  were  differentiated 
from  unorganized  hordes.  I  am  inclined  to  the  former  view,  thouglx 
rejecting  the  patriarchal  theory  defended  by  Maine,  Spencer,  and  others, 
according  to  which  the  family  was  expanded  or  subdivided  as  an  admin- 
istrative unit  into  the  clan  under  the  headship  of  the  ancestral  chief. 
Families  may  in  any  case  have  been  the  actual  starting-point  and  nucleus 
of  the  clan  (cf.  Starcke,  The  rrimitive.  Family,  p.  270),  as  the  most  obvi- 
ous groups  of  individuals  lilcely  to  be  united  by  common  usages.  On  the 
otiier  hand,  contiguous  group-members  of  the  horde  might  grow  up  to- 
gether to  the  adoption  of  common  cu.stoms  and  religious  observances, 
which  would  differentiate  them  from  other  gi-oups,  especially  as  primitive 
kinship  is  known  to  have  been  of  a  very  precarious  sort.  The  solution  is 
thus  seen  to  depend  upon  the  question  whether  or  not  the  family  as  an 
institution  preceded  the  combination  wliicli  resulted  in  the  clans.  It 
should  be  noted  tliat  these  discussions  do  not  touch  the  so-called  "  patri- 
archal "  stage  of  ancient  Israel,  since  Abraham  and  his  people  belonged  to 
a  period  of  social  development  subsequent  to  the  conditions  in  question. 


T 


M 


38 


RELIGIOUS  BASIS  OF  THE  CLAN 


Book  VII 


I 


be  an  association  of  households,  or,  possibly,  of  family 
groups,  and  to  be  neither  an  accidental  aggregation  nor  a 
deliberate  combination  of  related  families. 

§  397.  Attention  must  first  be  fixed  upon  the  external 
features  and  marks  of  clanship,  and  then  upon  its  internal 
development  and  its  primitive  principles.  The  clan  was 
the  centre  and  basis  of  the  community  of  Israel,  as  it  was 
when  it  adventured  itself  upon  the  borders  of  Canaan. 
Its  constitution  is  clearly  a  fundamental  matter.  Its  most 
obvious  mark  is,  of  course,  blood-relationship,  actual  or 
assumed.  But  there  are  other  characteristics,  less  obvious 
to  us  moderns,  though  they  are  essentially  related  to  the 
underlying  principle.  We  have  already  had  occasion  to 
remark  the  influence  of  religious  beliefs  and  practices  upon 
the  social  and  political  life  of  the  Semitic  peoples  (§  30 ; 
57  f. ;  289  f. ;  299).  Historically,  the  phenomenon  in  ques- 
tion is  rooted  in  the  persuasion  common  to  all  the  primitive 
communities  of  the  race  that  a  real  kinship  and  fellowship 
existed  between  the  gods  and  their  worshippers.  The 
deities  were  not  only  propitiated  by  ofiferings ;  they  were 
also  partakers  of  the  sacrificial  meals  in  common  with  the 
offerers,  who  regarded  themselves,  moreover,  as  the  chil- 
dren and  servants  of  their  gods.^  Now,  as  each  clan  or 
tribe  had  its  own  special  deity,  it  followed  that  the  bond  of 
natural  kinship  between  its  members  was  greatly  strength- 
ened by  the  consciousness  of  a  common  association  with 
the  tribal  divinity.  It  further  came  to  pass,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  that  all  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  religion,  and 
all  its  practices,  both  public  and  domestic,  formed  addi- 
tional means  and  motives  of  union,  as  well  as  recognizable 
marks  of  tribal  membership.  To  these  must  be  added,  as 
badges  of  the  clan  or  tribe,  characteristic  social  customs 
and  usages,  less  formally  of  a  religious  character,  and  yet 
invested  with  the  sacredness  of  religious  sanctions,  since 

1  See  Smith,  11.  S.,  Lect.  II,  where  the  whole  question  of  the  relation  of 
the  sods  to  their  votaries,  according  to  the  conceptions  of  the  primitive 
Semites,  is  treated  of  by  the  most  competent  scholar  of  our  time. 


Ch.  II,  §  399 


RELATIONS  TO  OUTSIDERS 


39 


matters  of  religion  and  of  common  life  were  never  divorced 
among  the  ancient  peoples  of  the  East. 

§  398.  But  again,  the  clan,  or  its  expansion,  the  tribe, 
was  not  merely  bound  together  by  inner  ties  of  such  force 
and  vitality ;  it  was  also  an  alliance  against  aliens,  who, 
whether  organized  into  similar  tribal  association  or  living 
as  "fugitives  and  wanderers,"  were  equally  regarded  as 
natural  enemies,  from  whom  the  kindly  courtesies  and  the 
mutual  proteation  that  prevailed  within  the  exclusive  com- 
munity were  sternly  withheld.^  Practically  this  offensive 
and  defensive  combination  against  all  outsiders,  which 
made  the  tribal  bond  such  an  inviolable  union,  found  ex- 
pression in  the  law  of  "  blood-revenge,"  which  was  univer- 
sal among  the  Semites,  as  among  the  ancient  Hellenic 
peoples,  and,  indeed,  in  primitive  society  generally.  Ac- 
cording to  this  law,  "  by  the  rules  of  early  society,  if  I  slay 
my  kinsman,  whether  voluntarily  or  involuntarily,  the  act 
is  murder,  and  is  punished  by  expulsion  from  the  kin ; 
if  my  kinsman  is  slain  by  an  outsider,  I  and  every  other 
member  of  my  kin  are  bound  to  avenge  his  death  by  killing 
the  manslayer  or  some  member  of  his  kin.  It  is  obvious 
that  under  such  a  system  there  can  be  no  inviolable  fellow- 
ship except  between  men  of  the  same  blood.  For  the  duty 
of  blood-revenge  is  paramount,  and  every  other  obligation 
is  dissolved  as  soon  as  it  comes  into  conflict  with  the 
claims  of  blood."  ^ 

§  399.  Such  are  the  essential  external  features  of  clan- 
ship or  tribalism,  some  clear  apprehension  of  which  is  essen- 
tial to  the  understanding  of  the  history  of  Israel.  Tribal 
usages  v/ere  never  fully  abandoned  by  the  ancient  He- 

1  This  is  claimed  by  Cain,  the  original  type  of  outlaws  and  non-union 
men,  as  the  reason  why  his  life  would  be  in  danger  (Gen.  iv.  12,  14  ;  cf. 
Smith,  R.  S.,  p.  262,  note  1).  And  so  the  "  mark  "  put  upon  him  (verse 
35),  whatever  was  its  specific  character,  must  have  been  something  which 
y/sis  to  indicate  that  he  was  under  the  protection  of  Jehovah,  who  would 
avenge  his  violent  death.  Notice  also  the  beautiful  plea  of  the  "  woman 
of  Tekoa"  in  2  S.  xiv.  14. 

2  Smith,  P..  S.,  p.  254 ;  cf.  Kinship,  p.  22  ft. 


w 


m 


■ 


40 


TRIBALISM   IN  THE   LITERATURE 


Book  VII 


brews,  nor  are  they  yet  completely  relinquished  by  their 
descendants.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  out  of  the  conflict 
between  tribalism  and  wider,  higher  principles,  social,  polit- 
ical, and  religious,  that  the  new  order  of  things  was  evolved 
which  has  given  Israel  its  imperishable  significance.  In 
the  social  sphere,  civic  life,  as  far  as  it  was  developed 
(§  32  ff.),  replaced  the  tent  and  the  encampment.  In 
the  political  region,  the  establishment  and  development  of 
the  kingdom  and  the  court  led  to  the  abandonment  of  the 
councils  of  the  tribal  chiefs.  In  the  transcendent  realm  of 
religion,  the  conceptions  and  teachings  of  Prophecy  found 
their  central  issue  in  their  triumphant  struggle  with  tri- 
balism, with  its  narrow  conceptions  of  ritual  and  of  duty. 
Thus  the  God  of  the  clans,  the  tribes,  and  the  nation  of 
Israel  was  vindicated  in  his  claim  to  be  the  God  of  all  the 
families  and  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  their  Father,  their 
Counsellor,  their  Protector,  and  their  Judge.  Thus  also 
the  most  germinal  and  potential  idea  of  ancient  tribalism, 
that  of  the  kinship  and  fellowship  of  the  members  of  the 
clan  with  their  tutelary  deity,  became  itself  a  kind  of 
prophecy,  as  it  was  transmuted  and  transfigured  into  the 
larger  conception  (Ezek.  xxxvii.  27)  and  the  assured 
reality  (Rev.  xxi.  3)  that  He  "  from  whom  every  clan  ^  in 
heaven  and  earth  has  its  name  "  (Eph.  iii.  15)  should  pitch 
his  tent  among  men,  and  should  dwell  with  them,  and 
they  should  be  his  peoples,  and  He  should  be  their  God. 
It  is  with  this  exulting  announcement  tha+^^  the  universal 
brotherhood  of  Christianity  finally  parts  company  with  the 
limitations  of  Semitism. 

§  400.  In  the  foregoing  observations  attention  has  been 
directed  almost  exclusively  to  the  clan,  and  not  to  the 
family  on  the  one  hand,  or  the  tribe  on  the  other,  for  the 
reason  that  the  clan  is  the  fundamental  nucleus  of  political 
integration  and  expansion.  It  is  possible  now  to  go  further 
and  trace,  at  least  in  a  general  fashion,  the  development 

1  Gr.  irarpid,  cf.  irdrpa.  The  thoughtful  Greek  named  the  clan  not 
only  a  "brotherhood"  (^parp/a),  but  a  "fatherhood." 


Cii.  II,  §  401 


THE   CLAN  FUNDAMKNTAL 


m 


of  the  tribe  and  of  the  rudimentary  state.  The  essential 
distinction  between  the  chin  and  the  family  group  has  been 
given  above  (§  396).  The  tribe  is  simply  an  aggregation 
of  clans.  It  may  be  formed  of  sub-clans  that  have  arisen 
by  descent.  Or  very  frequently  it  is  an  assemblage  of 
clans  that  have  come  together  by  mutual  consent,  and  are 
assimilated  in  habits  and  worship.  The  union,  however, 
is  looser  than  that  existing  between  members  of  the  same 
clan.  Separate  clans  may  be  perpetuated  within  the  tribes. 
Common  kinship  is  quite  a  secondary  matter,  and  is  often 
a  remote  aftertliought.  Nomadic  life  favours  the  clan ; 
semi-nomadic  or  early  settled  life,  the  tribe.  We  may  now 
revert  to  the  constitution  and  genius  of  the  clan  for  an 
explanation  of  the  formation  of  the  larger  organizations. 
The  main  point  is  to  show  the  princii)les  and  conditions 
that  affected  the  external  changes  of  social  and  political 
aggregations.  We  start  with  the  elan  and  its  outstanding 
mark  of  presumptive  kinship.  But  we  must  keep  in  mind 
the  other  main  features  of  clanship  just  mentioned,  and 
also  remember  that  they  all  go  hand  in  hand ;  that  if  any 
is  disregarded  or  forfeited,  the  bond  of  attachment  is 
broken,  and  that  on  the  other  hand  a  partial  fulfilment 
of  the  conditions  of  clanship  cannot  be  accepted  as  en- 
titling to  admission  to  the  brotherhood.  We  here  leave 
out  of  sight,  as  irrelevant  to  our  immediate  purpose,  the 
question  of  the  fundamental  relations  of  the  family  to  the 
clan,  while  keeping  in  view  the  household  as  living  within 
the  clan,  and  yet  not  being  directly  one  of  its  genetic  or 
formative  units.  We  take  our  stand  for  the  present  at 
a  point  later  than  the  fluctuating  and  uncertain  stage  or 
stages  when  the  conditions  were  being  made  up  which 
determined  the  formation  of  the  clan,  and  assume  its 
factor's  and  functions  to  be  complete  and  in  normal 
operation. 

§  401.  We  are  now  met  with  the  notoriously  universal 
fact  that  this  social  and  political  organization  is  in  a  con- 
stant state  of  flux,  expanding  or  contracting,  changing 


mem 


m 


42 


PKUMAXEXCK   OF  THE   CLAN 


Book  VII 


I 


its  local  habitat,  adding  to  itself  or  parting  with  families 
or  individuals,  while  all  along  the  association  retains  its 
unity  and  homogeneity  unimpaired,  and  performs  all  its 
functions  unimpeded.  There  is  involved  in  this  gen- 
eral fact  alone  the  external  possibilities  of  decisive 
changes  in  the  personnel,  the  numbers,  the  effective 
strength  of  the  elan.  We  may  thus  be  assured  that  our 
special  subject  of  study,  the  community  of  Israel,  for 
example,  became  greatly  modified  in  all  these  respects 
before  it  exchanged  its  tribal  constitution  for  the  more 
stable  conditions  of  civic  life.  Jiut  the  question  that 
presses  itself  upon  us  is:  How  was  this  corporate  con- 
tinuity, this  conservation  of  type  and  tradition,  secured? 
We  see  at  once  in  this  crucial  problem  the  importance  of 
being  able  to  realize  in  some  degree  the  genius  of  ancient 
and  Eastern  civilization.  Placed  as  we  are  now  among 
conditions  of  life  and  habit  which  we  call  higher  and 
better  than  those  of  ancient  peoples,  and  which,  in  any 
case,  are  essentially  different  from  theirs,  we  are  inevita- 
bly divided  from  them  by  a  great  negation  of  intellectual 
and  moral  sympathy,  Avhich  should  yet  be  bridged  over  by 
an  intelligent  appreciation  of  their  manners  and  usages, 
of  their  outlook  upon  the  world,  of  their  needs  in  bod}', 
soul,  and  spirit.  Surrounded  as  we  are  by  the  manifold 
appliance  J  of  our  culture,  and  moving  on  as  we  do  in  an 
unbroken,  perpetual  advance  in  discovery  and  invention, 
we  wonder  how  progioss  was  possible  to  a  people  whose 
only  movement  Avas  made  i^:  one  unending  circle  of  senti- 
ments and  ideas.  Protected  as  we  are,  and  needing  pro- 
tection, even  in  our  peaceful  surroundings,  by  the  police 
of  the  municipality  or  the  state,  we  find  it  hard  to  under- 
stand how  primitive  homes  and  communities  could  be 
secured  against  robber}' and  murder  and  lust  from  within, 
or  the  onslaught  of  rapacious  enemies  from  without.^ 
We  think  of  ourselves  as  being  regulated  and  limited 
by  cliecks  and  safeguards  of  all  sorts,  legal  and  govern- 

1  Cf.  Tjior,  Anthropolofjii  (1881),  p.  405. 


Cm.  it.  §  40.T     ESSENTIAL  NOTIONS  IN  CLAN  LIFE 


18 


be 
lliin. 

ited 
Jern- 


mental,  wliich  yet  cannot  guarantee  even  to  our  Christian 
society  an  immunity  from  the  successful  practices  of  the 
cunning  or  the  greed  of  our  rivals  or  our  associates,  and 
which  sometimes  threaten  to  give  way  altogether  under 
the  constant  strain  of  corporate  rapacity  clashing  with  the 
more  excusable  turbulence  of  ill-fed  and  ill-guided  masses 
morally,  though  not  legally,  defrauded  of  the  rewards  of 
their  toil.  iVnd  we  cannot  but  be  astonished  at  the  stabil- 
ity and  permanence  of  some  less-favoured  races  unblessed 
by  those  social,  political,  and  religious  institutions  that 
would  seem  to  embody  and  conserve  all  the  gathered 
experience  and  all  the  well-tried  wisdom  of  all  peoples 
and  all  ages. 

§  402.  Intricate  as  were  the  internal  relations  of  the 
clans,  the  outstanding  conditions  of  their  growth  and 
change  were  simple  enough.  Among  the  essential  ele- 
ments or  features  of  tribal  life  that  have  just  been  named 
we  may  make  an  obvious  threefold  distinction.  We 
liud  present  and  dominant  hore  belief,  sentiment,  and 
custom.  We  see  exhibited  the  sentiment  of  kinship 
l^etween  the  clan  members,  the  belief  in  the  active  influ- 
ence of  the  patron  deity  and  his  vital  association  with  the 
people,  along  with  other  and  minor  beliefs ;  and,  finally, 
the  various  customs  within  the  indivisible  sphere  of  social 
and  religious  usage  which  mark  the  unity  of  the  clan  and 
impart  to  it  its  needed  solidity.  Now  it  is  evident  that 
these  various  sentiments,  beliefs,  and  customs  would  be 
cherished  and  conserved,  whatever  their  origin  might  be, 
ill  proportion  to  the  degree  in  which  they  would  severally 

lid  to  the  personal  security  and  comfort  of  the  members 
>f  the  clan,  to  the  coherence  and  prosperity  of  the  several 
iouscholds,  and  to  the  effective  strength  and  growth  of 
ihe  whole  community. 

§  403.  It  is  further  self-evident  that  what  was  really 
obligatoiv  on  the  individual  clansmen  was  the  fuUllmeiit 
of  the  tr;  tional  tribal  duties,  all  of  which  were  invested 
with  tilt        redness  of  religious  sanction.     In  other  Avords, 


■.nr" 


f 


\'<   ■! 


'N* 


i 


44 


PllOCESS  OF   FEUPETUATION 


Book  VII 


the  social  cu.stoius  being  of  ii  roli^'ious  character,  and  the 
religious  practices  being  of  a  social  character,  the  observ- 
ance f)f  both  constituted  the  sum  of  public  duty.  As  the 
clan  was  supplied  from  the  family  groups,  with  their 
several  households,  these  customs  which  mark  the  homo- 
geneity of  the  clan  continued  to  be  maintained  not  only 
on  account  of  their  intiinsic  claims,  but  also,  aiul  to  a 
great  degree,  because  their  perpetuation  was  essential  to 
tlie  preservation  of  the  clan.  The  clan  therefore  was  kept 
up  for  tlie  sake  of  the  observances,  and  the  observances 
practicall}',  though  not  of  set  purpose,  for  the  benelit  of 
the  clan.  Moreover,  since  subsistence,  self-preservation, 
and  the  defence  of  auxiliary  dependeiits  are  the  great 
ends  of  society,  whatever  be  the  outward  forms  or  usages 
of  the  community,  that  type  of  social  life  was  necessarily 
maintained  and  fostered  which  was  found  to  best  secure 
these  indispensable  advantages.  So  it  came  to  pass  that 
the  aggregation  of  family  groups  wliich  grew  up  and  was 
maintained  without  concerted  action  or  prevision  of  the 
conse(piences,  and  was,  therefore,  in  t'.ie  strict  sense  of 
the  phrase,  not  politically  constituted,  became,  at  lengtli, 
an  end  in  itself.  For  it  was  found  to  secure  the  peaceful 
enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  labour  or  adventure  ami  of 
inherited  possessions,  .and  to  provide  leisure,  opportunity, 
and  appliances  for  the  practice  of  ancestral  and  family 
observances.  Thenceforward,  then,  it  is  possible  to  speak 
of  tlie  political  as  well  as  the  social  functions  of  the  clan, 
and  to  perceive  liow  it  nuist  be  perpetuated  as  an  organi- 
zation in  order  to  conserve  and  utilize  the  primary'  and 
fuiulamental  coiulitions  which  brought  it  into  being. 

§  404.  We  are  thus  brought  to  a  stage  in  the  incpiiry 
where  it  is  proper  to  speak  of  the  internal  make-up  and 
economy  of  the  clan.  The  security,  which  has  just  been 
referred  to  as  indispensable  for  continued  corporate  exist- 
ence, was,  under  the  coiulitions  of  ancient  society,  unat- 
tainabl'.'  either  by  the  household  or  the  family  group.  It 
was,  however,  provitled  through  the  necessary  extension 


i 


Cir.  II,  §  404       THE   CLAN  AND   FAMILY  GROUP 


46 


iind 

|p  and 

been 
'xist- 
liuiat- 
|..  It 
nsiim 


of  functions  that  was  realized  in  the  clan,  or,  rather,  by 
an  enlarged  application  of  the  conception  of  social  homo- 
geneity, of  kinship),  and  of  brotherhood.  For  the  distinct- 
ive mark  of  the  clan,  in  contrast  with  the  family  group, 
is  the  adoption  of  outsiders,  and  their  assimilation  under 
llie  guise  of  factitious  kinship  to  the  corporate  fellow- 
ship and  unity  of  the  other  clansmen.  This  potent  prin- 
ciple again  needs  a  word  of  comment.  First  of  all,  we 
need  to  revert  to  the  distinction  that  has  been  '.nade 
(§  30G)  between  the  "family"  in  the  modern  sense  of 
the  word  and  the  "household."  The  former  was  a  social 
institution  inevitably  and  universall}-  developed  of  itself 
by  virtue  of  direct  progeniture.  Tlie  latter  was  in  a  strict 
sense  a  political  combination,  involving  the  administra- 
tion of  a  composite  body  which  possessed  well-understood 
and  permanent  corporate  functions.^  As  the  household  is 
to  the  family,  so  is  the  clan  to  the  kin  or  family  group. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  observe  that  since  all  political 
combinations  are  a  matter  of  gradual  growth  and  differ- 
entiation from  simpler  types,  there  was  no  hard  and  fast 
line  of  distinction  between  these  forms  of  association. 
Families  were  continually  being  integrated  into  house- 
holds, and  family  groups  into  clans  ^  wherever  and  when- 
ever a  more  complex  condition  of  society  than  that  of  the 
lowest  and  simplest  came  into  existence.  The  household 
is  an  especially  instructive  object  for  our  present  purpose, 
since  it  exhibits  .'i  type  of  structure  very  analogous  to 
that  of  the  clan.  The  essential  distinction  between  the 
household  iind  the  family  is,  that  the  former  includes,  as 
constituent  elements,  dependents,  helpers,  and  retainers 
who  are  not  necessarily  within  the   kin  either  near  or 


1  This  definition  is  put  in  general  terms  as  characterizing  the  household 
everywhere.  For  the  primitive  Aryans,  see  W.  E.  Ilcarn,  Tlir  Aryan 
IIiiHschoId  (Longmans,  1891),  especially  chap.  iii. 

^Notice  the  usage  of  the  terms  exjilained  in  §  .300;  on  the  one  Jiaml 
aN  r'2  is  properly  a  house  under  iiaternal  control  {familia),  and  nnou's  is 
used  for  both  family  group  and  clan. 


Tr^ 


It 


^ii 


I    i 


I  -:  ! 


i^ 


40 


CONSTITUENTS  OF  THE   HOUSEHOLD        Book  VII 


remote.  The  same  thing  is  characteristic  of  the  chin  as 
distinguished  from  the  family  group. ^  For  the  ohm  is 
devek)ped  not  merely  hy  natural  expansion  of  the  kin, 
but  also  essentially  by  the  absorption  of  new  elements 
who  adopt  its  b.adges  and  traditions,  relinquishing  the 
fellowship  and  forfeiting  the  privileges  of  their  former 
associations. 2 

§  405.  Sufficient  space  has  now  been  taken  up  with 
general  distinctions,  and  we  must  proceed  to  specify  and 
describe  the  internal  processes  of  the  household  and 
the  clan,  the  two  fundamental  political  units  among  the 
Hebrews  and  their  ancient  congeners.  In  this  most 
important  region  of  inquiry  theie  is  a  great  abundance 
of  illustrative  material,  and  we  shall  have  to  content  our- 
selves with  the  most  comprehensive  of  well-ascertained 
facts.  Let  us  first  take  the  household  as  being  most 
easily  apprehended.  The  "household"  (§  300)  is  a 
small  heterogeneous  community,  whose  members,  having 
a  diversity  of    function,  are   under  the   control   of    the 

1  It  will  be  understood  that  although  the  family  group  (which  is  at  best 
an  unstable  and  transitional  association  like  all  other  purely  social  combi- 
nations) contains  households,  and  might  seem  really  to  consist  of  them, 
the  alien  elements  of  the  household  are  not  recognized  as  belonging  to  the 
kin. 

8  It  is  a  problem  which  does  not  greatly  concern  us  here,  whether  the 
household  preceded  the  clan  and  was  developed  into  it,  or  whether  the 
household  was  really  a  later  subdivision  of  the  clan.  But  it  may  not  be 
out  of  place  to  remind  tiie  reader  that  the  <iuestion  is  not  similar  to  that 
involved  in  the  relations  of  the  clan  to  the  family  or  the  family  group. 
While  the  presumption  (see  note  to  §  390)  is  in  favour  of  the  indirect 
derivation  of  clans  from  families,  it  is  not  so  clear  that  the  clan  was 
developed  from  households,  or  that  the  former  was  even  posterior  to  the 
latter.  The  presumption,  however  (for  in  these  matters  direct  evidence 
is  hard  to  get),  is  in  favour  of  the  transfer  of  the  characteristic  principles 
of  clientage  and  adoption  from  the  smaller  body  to  the  larger.  As  to  the 
Hebrews  in  particu'.ir,  the  Old  Testament  favours  tliia  hypothesis.  For 
the  "  Aryans,"  .see  Hearn,  op.  ciC,  p.  l.'W  £f.,  181  ff.  After  the  establish- 
ment of  the  clan,  new  households  were  continually  branching  off  within 
it  on  the  basis  of  the  individual  family,  and  such  are  the  only  households 
known  in  history. 


Cii.  II,  §  406 


STATUS  OF  SLAVES 


47 


the 
ler  the 
|not  be 
0  that 
p-oup. 
iidirect 
lU  was 
to  the 
ideuce 
uciples 
to  the 
.    For 
lablish- 
Iwithin 
ieholds 


•i 


"  lioiisu-father  "  ^  —  to  borrow  an  appropriate  term  from 
the  terminology  of  Indo-European  soeiety.  The  constit- 
uents of  the  household  were,  in  the  lirst  instance,  the 
children  of  the  father  and  the  mother  (or,  as  in  the  excep- 
tional cases  of  polygamous  marriage,  the  mothers)  along 
with  the  parents.  Inseparably  combined  with  them  as 
members  of  the  community  Avere  also  the  servants  and 
dependents  and  guests  of  the  establishment.  The  house- 
hold was  therefore  an  adjunct  of  the  family,  growing 
up,  primarily,  through  the  urgency  of  practical  needs. 
Its  heterogeneous  constitution  strikes  right  across  the 
commonly  accepted  ideas  of  kinship,  and  yet  the  uniting 
bond  must  have  been  close,  since  such  a  community  is  a 
])('rmanent  and  fundamental  institution. 

§  400.  Moreover,  the  heterogeneity  which  at  once 
occurs  to  us  was  not  so  obvious  to  ancient  society.  In 
the  first  place,  the  marked  social  distinctions  of  our  modern 
civilization  were  not  known  to  the  more  simple  society 
of  the  ancients.  In  particular,  our  modern  conception  of 
servitude  fails  to  represent  the  relation  that  subsisted 
among  ancient  peoples,  whether  Semitic  or  Aryan,  be- 
tween the  slave  and  his  master.  Whatever  might  b<3  the 
barbarities  and  the  hardships  of  the  slave-trade,^  when  a 
servant  became  regularly  established  in  a  household  his 
position,  though  menial,  was  not  degrading.  It  was  only 
in  the  more  opulent  and  populous  cities  of  the  later  times 

'  If  tlie  father  were  dead,  the  eldest  son  took  the  position  of  household 
head,  as  in  tlie  ease  of  Lahaii  ((ien.  xxiv.  ist  ff. ).  ()])serve  that  Abra- 
ham's servant  does  not  receive  the  hospitality  t)f  Hebekah's  "mother's 
house"  (v.  28)  till  Laban  appears  and  makes  him  formally  his  giiest. 

-  The  slave-trade  was  only  possible  on  a  larjre  scale,  amoni;  extensive 
commercial  comnuinities,  and  the  nbicjuitous  men-stealing  raids  of  the 
riiwnieians,  carried  on  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  galley-slaves  as  well 
as  plantation  hands  and  dock-labourers  for  their  imnicrous  settlements, 
extended,  as  we  have  seen,  to  the  interior  of  Israel  and  Judah  (§  204). 
Captives  taken  alive  in  war  naturally  became  the  slaves  either  of  their 
captors  or  of  outside  purchasers.  The  great  Assyrian  i)olicy  of  deporta- 
tion (§  283;  288  ff.)  must  have  helped  to  .solve  the  problem  of  dealing  with 
prisoners  of  war,  not  always  to  the  disadvantage  of  those  unfortunates. 


48 


FUNCTIONS   OF  SLAVES 


Book  VII 


» 


that  anything  approaching  the  modern  conditions  were 
found.  From  the  days  of  Abraham  and  the  Damascene 
Eliezer  to  those  of  Philemon  and  Onesimus,  the  associa- 
tion in  well-reguhited  households  was  one  of  mutual  con- 
fidence and  trust  (cf.  Job  xxxi.  13  ff.).  The  practical 
manager  of  a  nomadic  household  or  of  a  large  estate  in  the 
later  settlements  was  often  a  slave  who,  necessarily,  had 
the  respect  and,  doubtless,  sometimes  the  affectionate 
regard  both  of  the  master  and  his  immediate  family. 
Genesis  xxiv.  gives  a  charming  picture  of  what  must 
often  have  been  a  real  condition  of  things,  and  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  overestimate  the  beneficent  functions  perfoimed 
among  a  peoi)le  like  Israel  by  these  wards  and  conservers 
of  the  family.^ 

§  407.  Here  again  we  have  an  exemplification  of  the 
rich  and  instructive  significance  of  the  Hebrew  term 
of  relationship.  How  often  does  the  term  "servant"  or 
"slave  "  occur  in  the  Bible  in  an  enlarged  and  spiritual 
sense!  God  himself,  the  great  "house-father,"  is  set 
forth  with  especial  frequency  as  the  master  of  a  vast  and 
well-ordered  household.  Even  the  forces  of  the  universe 
are  his  servants,  his  attendants,  who  do  his  pleasure  (Ps. 
ciii.  20  f.).  In  his  control  of  the  great  actors  in  human 
history,  he  uses  them  as  his  obedient  and  efficient  slaves. 
Cyrus  and  Nebuchadrezzar  are  as  much  his  servanti  as 
are  Abraham,  Mosgs,  and  David.  The  people  of  Israel, 
and  its  choicest  representative,  the  Prophet,  Martyr,  and 
Redeemer  of  his  people,  are  servants  of  Jehovah.  The 
members  of  the  household  of  the  faith  (Gal.  vi.  10;  cf. 
E[)h.  ii.  19)  are  his  special  servitors.  Aiul  in  the  per- 
formance of  their  functions  they  are  held  by  obligations 
precisely  analogous  to  those  wh-'  h  boujid  the  slaves  of  a 
large  Oriental  establishment  of  the  ideal  Biblical  tj'pe. 
Their  attitude  varies  and  ranges  from  the  extreme  of 
absolute  submission,  wholly  devoid  of  servility,  to  that 


:ii     i 


i; 


1  Cf.  Stade,  GVI.  I,  i\n.     For  ancient  slavery  general,  y,  see  Wallon, 
Ilistoire  dc  Vesdavaije  dans  Vautiquitf. 


Cii.  II,  §  40S 


SERVITUDK   IX   LITERATURE 


40 


lUon, 


of  implicit  contidiiig  trustfulness,  never  exeni[)t  from 
reverence.  This  may  bo  here  exhibited  best  and  most 
briefly  by  an  example.  Paul  calls  himself  ""  the  slave  of 
Jesus  Cluist"  (l*liil-  i-  1^  eta!.).  Not  to  nmltii)ly  illus- 
trations, I  may  cite  the  employment  of  the  same  cirele  of 
images  in  the  closing  words  of  the  New  Testament,  in  the 
description  of  the  reunion  of  all  the  members  of  the  one 
Lneat  family,  household,  clan,  tribe,  and  nation  in  the  one 
"  Father's  house."  "  His  slaves  shall  do  him  service,  and 
they  shall  see  his  face  "  —  the  place  of  privilege,  of  recog- 
nition, of  approval,  and  the  attitude  of  eager  and  joyful 
waiting  (Rev.  xxii.  3  f.).  And,  to  heighten  the  colour 
and  expressiveness  of  the  picture,  it  is  added,  "his  name 
shall  be  on  their  foreheads."  We  thi  ik  of  the  brand  of 
slavery,  the  inscription  of  the  owner's  name  upon  the 
body  of  tlie  slave.  We  recall  how  the  most  spiritual  and 
imaginative  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets  had  already 
idealized  this  immemorial  usage  to  set  forth  the  willing 
subjection  of  the  surrounding  nations  to  the  God  of  Israel, 
in  the  words :  "  One  shall  say,  'I  am  Jehovah's,'  and  another 
shall  call  himself  by  the  name  of  Jacob,  and  another  shall 
write  on  his  hand,  'Jehovah's  '  "  (Isa.  xliv.  5  margin). 
And  now  at  last  the  seer  of  Patmos,  beholding  in  pros- 
pect the  final  regeneration  and  renewal  of  mankind, 
emliraces  in  a  single  apocalyptic  glance  the  whole  evo- 
lution of  human  societ}',  from  the  rudest  beginnings  of 
barbaric  slavery  to  the  joyful  services  of  the  new  heavens 
and  the  new  earth,  where  the  servants  are  still  slaves  and 
yet  "kings  and  priests  unto  (iod." 

§  408.  Again,  the  homogeneity  of  the  household  was 
materially  p)romoted  by  the  common  relation  of  subjection 
or  clientage  which  all  its  UKunbers,  bond  or  free,  sus- 
tained to  the  house-father,  who  controlled  and  dis[)osed 
of  them,  not,  it  is  true,  with  the  inexorable  despotism  of 
the   ideal    Roman  jtaterfamilias,^  yet  with  an  authority 

1  For  a  clear  and  (-(incise  description  of  the  Roman /(OHiVia,  see  Monim- 
sen,  ItMonj  nf  Rmne  (Engl,  tr.,  New  York,  1871),  vol.  I,  eh.  v.    The 


fr< 


W: 


50 


PATRIA   POTESTAS 


Book  VII 


'  ) 


wliieli  seems  to  have  been  limited  only  by  the  tolerance 
naturally  developed  among  peoples  long  and  habitually 
nomadic,  as  contrasted  with  those  Avho,  like  the  Romans, 
comparatively  early  attained  to  iixedness  of  settlement  and 
permanence  of  domestic  establishment.  A  brief  indica- 
tion of  the  character  of  this  patria  potestas  in  its  extreme 
exemplification  will,  perhaps,  best  show  how  firmly 
ancient  society  was  rooted  in  traditional  beliefs  and 
usages. 

§  409.  "  Father  and  mother,  sons  and  daughters,  home 
and  homestead,  servants  and  chattels  —  such  are  the  natu- 
ral elements  constituting  the  household  in  all  cases  where 
jiolygamy  has  not  obliterated  the  distinctive  position  of 
the  mother.  .  .  .  None  has  e(iualled  the  Roman  in  the 
simple  but  inexorable  embodiment  in  law  of  the  principles 
pointed  out  by  Nature  herself.  ...  To  the  Roman  citizen 
a  house  of  his  own  and  the  blessing  of  children  appeared 
the  end  and  essence  of  life.  The  death  of  the  individual 
was  not  an  evil,  for  it  was  a  matter  of  necessity ;  but  tlie 
extinction  of  a  household  or  of  a  clan  was  injurious  to  the 
community  itself,  which  in  the  earliest  times   therefore 

patn'ii  potpstas  had  been  a  subject  of  study  from  the  days  of  the  old 
lioinan  jurists  (Gaius  lived  under  the  Antonines),  but  it  was  reserved 
for  modern  sociological  science  to  explain  its  fundamental  character. 
Fustel  de  Coulanges,  La  Cite  antique  (lltli  edition,  1885),  p.  98  ff., 
points  out  its  distinctive  features  in  the  Greek  and  Honian  household, 
and  performs  tlie  capital  service  of  showing  how  it  was  connected  with 
the  religion  of  "the  liearth  and  of  the  tomb "  ;  how  the  guardianship  of 
the  sacred  family  hearth,  confided  to  the  house-father,  was  practically  a 
worship  of  the  ancestral  spirits  ;  how  the  ancestors  and  the  descendants 
were  bound  together  in  an  indivisible  unity  through  tiie  male  members  in 
the  (livi^rging  lines  of  descent ;  how  tlie  family  property  was  by  the  house- 
father lield  in  trust  for  this  society  of  the  living  and  the  dead  constituted 
by  the  cult  of  its  tutelary  divinities.  From  these  fundamental  facts  it 
follows,  we  may  add,  that  in  the  proportion  of  the  sense  and  appreciation 
of  property  must  be  the  degree  of  power  with  which  the  house-father  is  in- 
vested ( §  425).  The  sense  of  property  was  strongest  in  Home,  and  there  the 
imtria  potestas  was  strongest.  For  limitations  of  tiie  sphere  of  the  patria 
potestas,  its  lii.storical  influence,  and  its  gradual  relaxation,  see  Maine, 
Ancient  Law  (3d  New  York,  from  5th  London  edition,  1888),  p.  131  ff. 


■1 


Cii.  II,  §  409 


THE   ROMAN  TYPE 


51 


opened  up  to  the  childleas  the  means  of  avoiding  such  a 
fatality  by  their  adopting,  in  the  presence  of  the  people, 
tlie  children  of  others  as  their  own.  .  .  .  Man  alone  could 
be  head  of  a  family.  .  .  .  Woman  always  and  necessarily 
belonged  to  the  household,  not  to  the  community,  and  in 
the  household  itself  she  necessarily  held  a  position  of 
domestic  subjection.  ...  In  a  legal  point  of  view,  the 
family  was  absolutely  guided  by  the  single,  all-powerful 
will  of  the  '  father  of  the  household.'  In  relation  to  him 
all  in  the  household  were  destitute  of  legal  rights  —  the 
wife  and  the  child  no  less  than  the  bullock  or  the  slave.  .  .  . 
The  father  of  the  household  not  only  maintained  the 
strictest  discipline  over  its  members,  but  he  had  the  right 
and  duty  of  exercising  judicial  authority  over  them,  and 
of  punishing  them  as  he  deemed  fit  in  life  and  limb.  Tlie 
grown-up  son  might  establish  a  se[)arate  household,  or,  as 
the  Romans  expressed  it,  maintain  his  '  own  cattle  '  (pecu- 
liion}  assigned  to  him  by  his  father,  but  in  law  all  tliat 
the  son  acquired  .  .  .  remained  the  father's  property.  .  .  . 
Indeed,  a  father  might  convey  his  son  as  well  as  his  slave 
as  property  to  a  third  person :  if  the  purchaser  were  a  for- 
eigner, the  son  became  his  slave.  ...  In  reality,  the  pater- 
nal and  marital  power  was  subject  to  no  legal  restrictions 
at  all.  Religion,  indeed,  pronounced  its  anatliema  on 
some  of  the  worst  cases  of  abuse.  For  example,  whoever 
sold  his  wife  or  his  married  son  was  declared  accursed ; 
and  in  a  similar  spirit  it  was  enacted  that  in  the  exercise 
of  domestic  jurisdiction  the  father,  and  still  more  the 
husband,  should  not  pronounce  sentence  on  child  or  wife 
without  having  previously  consulted  the  nearest  blood- 
relations,  his  wife's  as  well  as  liis  own.  But  such  provi- 
sions as  these  involved  no  legal  diminution  of  liis  powers, 
for  the  execution  of  the  anathemas  was  the  province  of 
the  gods,  not  of  earthly  justice ;  and  the  blood-relations 
called  in  to  the  domestic  judgment  were  present  not  to 
judge,  but  simply  to  advise  the  father  of  the  household 
in  his  judicial  oftice.     But  not  only  was  the  power  of  the 


II' ' 

|; 

\  ,   1 

1         t    -.       ' 

'll      i ' 


h- 


62 


A    WlDK-SriJKAl)   INSTITUTION 


Book  VII 


master  of  the  house  unlimited  and  responsible  to  no  one 
on  earth;  it  was  also,  as  long  as  he  lived,  unchangeable 
and  indestructible.  According  to  the  Greek  as  well  as  to 
the  Germanic  laws,  the  grown-up  son,  who  was  practically 
independent  of  liis  father,  was  also  independent  legally ; 
but  the  power  of  the  Roman  father  could  not  be  dissolved 
during  his  life,  either  by  age  or  insanity,  or  even  by  his 
own  free  will,  except  when  a  daughter  passed  by  a  lawful 
marriage  out  of  the  hand  of  lier  father  into  the  hand  of 
her  husband,  and,  leaving  her  own  [/em  and  the  protection 
of  her  own  gods  to  enter  into  the  i/emt  of  her  husband  and 
the  protection  of  his  gods,  became  henceforth  subject  to 
liim  as  she  had  been  to  her  father.  It  was  easier,  accord- 
ing to  Roman  law,  for  the  slave  to  obtain  release  from  his 
master  than  for  the  son  to  obtain  release  from  his  father."  ^ 
In  Lubbock's  pithy  language,  "a  Roman's  'family'  origin- 
ally, and  indeed  throughout  classical  times,  meant  his 
slaves,  and  the  children  only  formed  part  of  the  family 
because  they  were  his  slaves,  —  so  that  if  a  father  freed 
his  son,  the  latter  ceased  to  be  one  of  the  family,  and  had 
no  part  in  the  inheritance."  ^ 

§  410.  Such  was  the  household  of  the  Romans,  the 
best  known  to  us  of  all  ancient  domestic  institutions,  and 
the  foundation  and  germ  of  the  most  comprehensive  and 
thorougli-going  system  of  jurisprudence  and  of  social 
organization  which  the  world  has  ever  seen.  We  should 
find  it  exceedingly  instructive  to  compare  it  with  what  is 
known  of  other  ancient  liouseholds.  The  question  is  of 
interest  to  us  not  merely  because  of  its  bearing  upon  prim- 
itive society  generally,  but  especially  on  account  of  the 
religious  significance  of  fatherhood,  to  which  reference 
will  be  made  later  (§  432).  It  has  been  denied  that 
patria  pofestas  existed  except  among  the  Romans.^    But 


1  Mommsen,  op.  cit.,  vol.  i,  p.  88-02. 

2  Origin  of  Cicilisation,  etc.,  5  etl.  188S),  p.  100;  cf.  p.  73. 

3  Especially  by  .1.  F.   and  1).   McLennan,   The   Patriarchal  Theory 
(1885),  p.  35  ff,     Cf.  also  StiuUcn  in  Ancient  Ilistori/  (1880),  p.  132. 


C».  II,  §411     AMONG  SEMITKS  AND  NON-SEMITES 


53 


as  a  matter  of  fact  the  institution  or  the  customs  liave 
been  widely  prevalent  both  in  ancient  and  in  modern, 
times.  .Vbundant  testimony  is  at  hand  of  its  existence, 
extending  even  to  the  right  of  exposure  and  sale  of  chil- 
dren, among  the  ancient  Greeks,  (Jermans,  and  Kelts.  The 
unl)ounded  power  of  the  house-father  in  modern  Russia 
and  India  is  notorious.'  The  question  arises,  liow  far,  if 
at  all,  did  this  authority  prevail  among  the  Semites,  and 
particularly  the  Hebrews? 

§  411.  Here  again  we  must  make  a  clear  distinction 
between  different  stages  of  civilization  and  social  develop- 
ment. That  the  "family  "  was  constituted  upon  an  earlier 
basis  of  maternal  relationship  has  been  asserted  by  most 
modern  sociologists  for  primitive  races  generally,  and  has 
l>een  especially  claimed  for  the  ancient  Semitic  tribes  by 
W.  Robertson  Smith.  But  it  is  immaterial  for  our  pres- 
ent purpose  whether  such  a  state  of  society  ever  existed.^ 
What  we  have  to  do  with  is  the  accessible  monuments  of 
Semitic  civilization  and  the  testimony  they  bear  as  to  the 
condition  of  the  household  in  times  which  they  illustrate. 
And   particularly  we  wish  to  know  something  of  those 


1  For  evidence  as  to  the  Greeks,  see  La  Cite  untique,  p.  09  ;  for  the 
rest,  Ilearn,  Thv  Aryan  HdHschohl  (1801),  p.  02  ff. ;  cf.  the  usage  of  terms 
derivid  from  words  for  "hand"  as  presented  by  Maine,  Earhj  History  of 
IiiMitittions  (New  Yorlt,  1888),  p.  210  f. 

-  'I'lie  somewhat  notable  controversy  between  Sir  Henry  Maine  and  Mr. 
.T.  F.  McLennan  turned  primarily  upon  the  orif/in  of  tlie  family  as  a  social 
and  political  institution.  Maine  was  certainly  rii,'ht  in  his  claim  for  the 
prevalence  of  the  patriarchal  type  of  family  life  in  many  parts  of  the 
world,  but  it  is  quite  possible  that  he  was  wronn  in  his  a.ssum]>tion  that 
it  was  the  ultimate  form  of  society,  which  the  later  types  have  displaced. 
^IcLennan,  on  the  other  hand,  apparently  through  his  anxiety  to  refute 
the  "patriarchal  theory,"  went  to  undue  lengths  in  endeavouring  to  di.s- 
in-nve  any  form  of  patria  potestns  among  peoi)les  by  whom  indications  of 
it  have  been  rather  obtrusively  manifested.  It  should  be  added  that  both 
parties  appeal  to  instances  which  are  not  decisive  at  all  for  the  purpose 
which  they  had  in  view,  —  at  lea.st,  within  the  Semitic  sphere,  —  since  what 
the  Old  Testament  has  to  tell  us  of  the  Hebrews  belongs  to  a  compara- 
tively Ifite  stage  in  Semitic  social  development.  See  McLennan  as  above 
cited,  and  Maine,  Ancieut  Law,  p.  118  ff. 


p^ 


64 


THE   I'ATRIAnCHAL  TYPE 


Book  VII 


h 

I  i 


aspects  of  family  life  which  gave  form  and  colour  to  dom- 
inant leligious  and  moral  conceptions  and  relations.  The 
inunense  significance  of  the  facts  in  question  becomes  at 
once  evident  when  we  again  call  to  mind  how  large  a  part 
is  played  in  the  religion  of  the  Bible  by  the  relations  of 
fatherhood  and  sonship,  and  when  we  further  reflect  that 
the  surest  key  to  the  meaning  of  much  of  the  Biblical 
phraseology  is  provided  by  the  domestic  institutions  of  the 
people  to  whom  the  word  of  Jehovah  came. 

55  412.  As  far  as  the  Hebrews  are  concerned,  —  with 
whom  our  interest  more  directly  lies,  —  the  most  obvious 
source  of  information  is  the  recorded  usage  of  the  family 
life  of  those  liouseholds,  whose  history  has  been  most  fully 
related  in  the  surviving  literature.  The  widest  induction 
may  be  made  at  once  from  the  statement  of  Gen.  xviii.  19, 
that  the  great  ancestor  of  the  Hebrews  was  chosen  by 
Jehovah,  "in  order  that  he  might  command  his  children 
and  his  household  after  him."  Accordingly,  at  the  com- 
mand of  Jehovah,  Abraham  prepares  to  dispose  of  the  very 
life  of  the  heir  of  his  household  (Gen.  xxii. ;  cf.  xv.  2  ff.). 
He  also  settles  the  fate  of  his  other  children  (Gen.  xxi.  14 ; 
XXV.  6),  born  of  the  secondary  wives  of  inferior  rank.  In 
these  mattei-s  the  primary  wife  makes  her  wishes  known,^ 
but  even  over  the  children  of  her  own  handmaid  (female 
slave)  she  has  no  power  (Gen.  xxi.  10),  not  even  over  the 
handmaid  herself,  whose  banishment,  along  with  her  son,  is 
executed  by  the  father  of  the  household.  In  like  manner 
Isaac  has  control  of  the  destiny  of  his  oldest  son  Esau,  even 
after  the  marriage  of  the  latter  (Gen.  xxvii. ,  cf.  xxvi. 
34  f.).  Nor  is  it  easy  to  see  how  the  patriarchal  blessing 
could  be  either  given  or  withheld,  unless  the  paternal 
authority  remained  with  the  head  of  the  household  till 
the  day  of  his  death.  Again,  though  Rebekah  advises  the 
younger  son  Jacob  to  go  to  his  Aramrean  kindred,  he  has 
to  appear  before  his  father,  who  "  commands  "  him  formally 

1  This  transaction  is  regsirded  as  an  "  order  "  by  McLennan,  Patriarchal 
Theory,  p.  48. 


mm 


Cii.  II,  §  413 


THE   FAMILY   OF  JACUlJ 


55 


to  the  same  effect,  and  "sends  him  away  *' ((ien.  xxviii. 
1,  5).  The  subsequent  story  is  made  much  of  by  McLen- 
nan^ and  W.  K.  Smith,''^  who  attempt  to  show  that  Jacob 
contracted  a  "  beenah  marriage  "  (by  which  the  husband 
transfers  himself  to  the  family  of  his  wife)  with  the  daugh- 
ters of  Laban.  But  they  have  entirely  misconceived  the 
nature  of  the  relations.  Jacob  became  a  member  of  the 
family  of  Laban,  and  actually  worked  as  his  servant,  be- 
cause he  had  no  choice  but  to  come  under  the  authority  of 
the  head  of  whatever  household  he  might  attach  himself 
to.  For  a  month  he  was  a  guest,  but  after  this  term  (prob- 
ably the  conventional  period)  of  hospitality,  Laban  recog- 
nizes the  permanent  relation  of  servitude,  and  just  because 
he  was  a  kinsman,  he  proposes  that  he  should  have  a  tixed 
wage  (Gen.  xxix.  14  f.).  In  support  of  his  contention, 
McLennan  further  says :  "  We  find,  first,  that  Jacob  had  to 
buy  his  place  in  Laban's  family,  as  husband  of  Laban's 
daughters,  by  service ;  and  second,  that  the  children  born 
to  him  belonged  to  Laban's  family,  and  not  to  him,  both 
notes  of  beenah  marriage,  and  the  second  denoting  it  be- 
yond possibility  of  mistake."  Rather,  we  should  say,  tlie 
fact  that  the  children  were  claimed  by  Laban  as  his  own  is 
an  indication,  and  a  very  striking  one,  of  the  patria  potes- 
tas.  The  claim  is  in  fact  asserted  by  Laban  in  a  most  pos- 
itive manner  (xxxi.  43;  cf.  28  f.),  and  Jacob  was  so  much 
convinced  of  the  soundness  of  it,  that  he  could  only  escape 
from  Laban's  rightful  jurisdiction  by  a  secret  flight. 

§  413.  The  episode  of  the  theft  of  the  teraphim  by 
Rachel  is  another  interesting  parallel  with  the  Roman 
household,  where  the  Lares  and  Penates  were  the  essential 
bond  of  solidai'ity  in  the  ancestral  community.  Rachel's 
object  in  securing  them  was  apparently  to  have  the  new 
household  brought  under  the  protection  of  the  manes 
which  had  guarded  and  blessed  her  paternal  home.  This 
was  in  her  view  quite  possible  and  natural.  Jacob  had 
been  adopted  into  her  father's  family,  and  when  in  posses- 


Patriarchal  Theory,  p.  42  ff. 


2  Kinship,  p.  176. 


60 


JACOB   AND   LABAN 


Book  VII 


'fll 


it  .■ 


sioii  of  the  tutelary  images,  lie  might  well  1x3  exjieclecl  to 
enjoy  their  patromige.  The  prominence  given  to  this  in- 
cident in  the  history  of  the  fuunder.s  of  Israel  (in  spite  of 
the  renunciation  of  Gen.  xxxv.  2)  goes  to  show  that  the 
descendants  of  Jacob  through  Rachel  ascribed  for  many 
generations  considerable  importance  to  the  transfer  of 
these  ancestral  guardians  from  Aram  to  Israel.  Our  spe- 
cial point  here,  however,  is  the  indication  given  by  the 
whole  story  that  as  long  as  Jacob's  wives  lived  with  their 
father,  they,  as  well  as  their  husband,  were  subject  to  him, 
and  that  only  upon  their  departure  was  a  new  household 
set  up,  for  which  the  teraphim  were  to  furnish  the  neces- 
sary auspices.  Moreover,  it  is  clear  that  in  the  transaction 
Rachel  did  not  act  for  herself, as  in  a  beina/i  marriage,  but 
for  her  husband.  Indeed,  Laban  illustrates  the  marital 
aspect  of  2^(it''i(i  potestas  when  he  reminds  Jacob  (xxxi. 
49  f.)  that  the  latter  has  absolute  power  thenceforth  over 
his  wives.  Lastly,  the  former  state  of  things  under  the 
paternal  rdgime  of  Laban  is  recognized  in  the  very  phrase- 
ology of  that  touching  description  of  the  final  parting, 
when  it  is  said  (ver.  55)  that  "  Tiaban  kissed  his  sons  and 
his  daughters  and  blessed  them."  McLennan  is  of  coui-se 
right  in  claiming  that  relationship  through  daughters  as 
well  as  through  sons  was  recogni/.ed,  though  we  must  re- 
member that  this  was  not  the  only  ground  upon  which 
Laban  "  claimed  his  daughters'  children  as  his  own  "  ;  ^ 
since  Jacob  the  father,  when  adopted  into  the  household, 
became  a  male  member  of  it.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to 
pafria  potestas  that  kinship  through  the  male  line  only 
should  be  recognized.  What  is  involved  in  it  is  that  let/al 
relationship  is  reckoned  only  through  the  male,  and  not 
through  the  female  descendants.  But  of  this,  more  pres- 
ently. 

v5  414.  Jacob's  farail}'  having  been  thus  established  as 
a  separate  household,  its  history  also  is  given  with  more 
than  usual  fulness.     The  narrative  shows  that  while  the 

1  Patriarchal  Theory,  p.  47. 


«ll 


Cm.  it.  §  414 


JACOB  AND   HIS   SUNS 


57 


range  of  fruecloiii  that  was  absolutely  iiucussary  to  the  life 
of  shei)hertls  was  graiitutl  to  the  children,  tiiey  yet,  when 
uiKler  the  direct  oversight  of  their  father,  were  subject 
to 'his  ('onnuands.  The  disposal  of  important  affairs  rests 
iduiuately  with  the  father,  and  not  with  any  or  all  of  the 
grown-up  sons.  In  the  management  of  the  expeditions  to 
Kgypt  for  food,  the  sons  seem  to  be  merely  trustees  or 
agents  for  the  father,  the  head  of  the  huge  househoUl 
of  families  (see  especially  Gen.  xliii.  11  tL).  MeLennan, 
as  .lohu  Locke  did  before  him  in  his  controversy  with 
Sir  Robert  Kilmer,'  makes  much  of  the  fact  that  lleuben 
offered  his  sons  as  hostages  to  Jacob  for  the  safe  return 
of  Benjamin;  and  that  .ludah  actually  became  surety  for 
it.  As  to  this,  Locke  is  (|uoted  as  saying,  "  which  all 
had  been  vain  and  superfluous,  ami  but  a  sort  of  mocker}', 
if  Jai.'ob  had  had  the  same  power  over  every  one  of  his 
family  as  he  had  over  his  ox  or  his  ass."  And  McLennan 
says:^  "They  show  much  deference  to  their  father,  no 
doubt ;  but  they  address  him  like  men  that  have  a  right 
to  be  listened  to,  and,  for  the  general  good,  press  him  and 
almost  coerce  him  into  a  course  he  was  most  averse  to." 
Hut  is  moral  influence  and  persuasion  on  the  part  of 
children  excluded  by  patr'ui  potestaa?  Even  among  the 
Ilomans  it  was  prescribed  not  that  the  father  was  hound 
to  repress  the  wishes  of  his  children,  but  that  he  had  the 
power  to  do  so  if  he  willed  it.  Neither  Locke  nor  Mc- 
Lennan would  have  maintained  that  all  the  young  Romans 
who  made  a  career  for  themselves  (young  Caius  jNLarius, 
for  example,  who  broke  away  from  the  plough  to  wield 
the  sword)  refrained  from  exercising  any  soi-t  of  influence 
upon  the  pafrcs  famiUarum.  Putria  potestm  did  not  make 
moral  nonentities  of  the  sons  of  Romans  any  more  than  it 
did  of  the  mother  of  the  Gracchi  or  of  the  daughter  of 
Cicero.  An  apt  illustration  of  this  moral  liberty  of  the 
member  of  the  family  within  the  realm  of  i)arental  con- 
trol, is  furnished  by  the  sons  of  Eli,  of  whom  it  is  said  — 


1  See  Patriarchal  Theory,  \\  .'JO  ff. 


2  Ih.  p.  40. 


lilt 


58 


UNDER  THE  JUDGES  AND   KINGS 


no(,K  VII 


^1 


U 


and  that  while  they  were  grown  men  —  that  "  they  were 
cursing  God  (Sei)t.),  and  he  did  not  make  them  give  up  " 
(1  Saul.  iii.  iJJ)'  i'o  conchide  the  family  history  of  Jacob, 
it  should  be  noticed  that  after  the  patenuvl  blessing  and 
the  i)artiKg  charges,  and  after  the  death  of  the  doughty 
old  })atriarch,  the  oldei'  sons  recalled  the  fact  that  their 
father  had  left  a  positive  command  with  them  before  he 
died  (Gen.  1.  IG  f.). 

§  415.  Passing  on  to  the  time  of  the  Judges,  it  is  worth 
mentioning  that  in  spite  of  Gideon's  independence  of  action 
against  the  worship  of  Baal,  the  young  innovator  was 
reckoned  by  the  followers  of  Baal  to  be  at  the  disposal  of 
his  father  (Jud.  vi.  30).  In  the  early  regal  period  we  are 
struck  l)y  Saul's  treatment  of  liis  son  Jonathan  (1  Sam. 
XX.  ']()  Pf.),  when  the  latter  seemed  to  be  intriguing  with 
David.  This  might  be  accounted  for  on  the  supposition 
that  Saul  was  here  acting  as  a  king  and  not  as  a  pater- 
fumilias^  this  having  certainly  been  the  case  in  an  earlier 
instance  of  threatened  punishment  (1  Sam.  xiv.  44).  But 
the  similar  incident,  when  David  was  the  intended  victim, 
reminds  us  that  both  he  and  Jonathan  were  members  of 
the  household  of  Saul  when  the  acts  of  violence  were  per- 
formed ;  the  attempt  on  the  life  of  David  having  been 
made  l)efore  he  was  outlawed  by  the  proclamation  of  the 
king  (1  Sam.  xix.  1),  and  he  in  fact  Injing  treated  tis  one 
of  the  kin?;'s  sons  (cf.  1  Sam.  xx.  25  ft.  with  2  Sam.  ix. 
11).  Thereafter  in  the  recorded  history  of  Israel  we  have 
but  few  glimpses  of  doniostic  life  apart  from  the  regal 
houseljolds,  in  '-  iiose  management  it  is  difficult  to  distin- 
guish between  the  kingly  and  the  paternal  authority:  the 
most  conspicuous  instance  being  the  relations  between 
David  and  his  sons. 

§  41<>.  But  a  decisive  indication  of  fundamental  cus- 
toms is  afforded  by  the  story  of  the  liechabitcs  (,Icr. 
XXXV.).  'I'hese  people  had  held,  in  the  middle  of  the  ninth 
century  ii.C.  \\.Ja-  abode  somewhere  between  Jezreel  antl 
Samaria  (2  K.  x.  15  ff.).      .lonadal),  their  i  liief  at  tlr.it 


VII 


til.  II,  §  417 


THE  RECHABITES 


59 


date,  had  enjoined  upon  his  descendant-:  to  all  generations 
that  they  should  keep  themselves  free  from  all  the  haljits 
and  employment  of  agriculture  and  civic  life,  drink  no 
wine,  build  no  house,  and  sow  no  seed  —  all  this  so  that 
they  might  escape  the  enervating  influences  of  that  form 
of  civilization  which  has  always  been  injurious  to  those 
nomadic  peoples  who  have  in  Palestine  renounced  the 
inunemorial  traditions  and  customs  of  the  desert  and  the 
pasture  land.  VV^ith  such  tenacity  was  this  conservative 
princi[)le  maintained  among  the  clan  that,  nearly  three 
luindred  yeai-s  after  Jonadab,  none  of  "the  sons  of  the  house 
of  the  Kcchabites"  would  bate  one  jot  of  the  faitli  they  had 
so  sternly  kept  with  their  ancestral  head  who  still  ruled 
their  spirits  from  his  to.nb.  We  may  explain  this  devo- 
tion as  the  expression  of  the  fanatical  [irejudice  of  a  sect, 
and  yet  we  cannot  account  for  the  singular  persistence  of 
the  belief  and  the  habit  except  ui)on  the  ground  alleged 
by  the  Prophet,  deference  to  the  paternal  connnand. 
These  Ilechabites,  of  the  Kenite  stock  (1  Chr.  ii.  55), 
though  not  descended  from  Jacob,  were,  at  an  early  date 
(Jud.  iv.  11,  17  ff. ;  v.  24),  the  twelfth  century  M.c,  very 
good  Hebrews  and  an  important  part  of  the  nation 
(cf.  §  186).  *-uch  a  deeply  rooted  principle  as  this,  iiow- 
ever  it  might  vary  in  its  applii.'ation,  was  of  course  not 
contined  to  a  small  nomadic  circle.  We  have  accordingly 
very  good  reason  to  sujtpose  that  tlie  head  of  the  nomadic 
household  exercised  not  only  a  moral  inlliience  U[)on  his 
fiiinily,  but  also  a  prescriptive  restraint,  which  had  all  tlie 
foici-  of  statutory  law. 

v^  417.  The  liislorical  testimony  of  the  Old  Testament 
is  clearer  as  to  the  status  ol"  the  ciiiklren  of  the  household 
tlian  as  to  that  of  tlie  wife  or  motlier,  though,  as  we  have 
incidentally  seen,  all  the  evidence  of  the  narratives  is  in 
favour  ot  the  hypothesis  of  the  sujiremacy  of  the  house- 
master in  botli  relations.  We  shall  now  take  a  glance  at 
the  siiecitic  laws  and  institutions  which  have  to  do  with 
the  status  and  relations  of  the  wives  and  motliers  of  the 


60 


THE   LEVIUATE   CUSTOM 


Book  VII 


household  among-  the  Hebrews.  As  l)earing  upon  the 
function  and  condition  of  the  wife,  allusion  nui}-  be  made  to 
the  custom  by  which  the  nearest  of  male  kin  in  a  deceased 
husband's  family  was  bound  to  marry  the  widow  for  the 
sake  of  [)erpetuating  the  name  and  family  of  the  dead  man. 
Nothing  more  plainly  indicates  the  secondary  position  of 
the  wife  from  the  legal  point  of  view  than  this  deeiMooted 
institution.  The  kindred  of  the  wife  are  shown  to  be  as 
dead  to  her  in  law  as  they  were  in  ancient  Ho'uan  society. 
McLcnnan's  attempt  to  derive  the  levirate  custom  from 
polyandry  '  is,  at  least  in  the  case  of  the  Hebrews,  very 
precarious.  The  doubl}-  or  multiply  married  woman  is 
here  evidently  only  the  necessary  comiecting  link  l)etween 
the  original  husband  as  the  family  representative  and  the 
nuich  coveted  descendants.  There  was,  in  fact,  no  other 
way  of  securing  the  perpetuation  of  liis  family  except  l)y 
means  of  the  device  of  levirate  marriage  and  its  extension 
to  even  more  remote  kindred  than  the  l)rothers  of  the 
deceased.  And  those  who  reject  the  derivation  from 
primitive  polyandry,  and  abide  by  the  hypothesis  of  an 
established  fiction  of  paternal  descent,  have  no  more 
diti'julty  in  accounting  for  the  origin  of  that  liction 
than  they  have  in  explaining  the  simulated  sonship  of 
adoi)tion  —  the  exact  counto  part  of  the  simulated  fatljer- 
hood  of  the  levirate  household,  and  a  usage  of  far  wider 
lange  and  influence  among  ancient  peoples,  than  the  latter 
ever  could  become. 

§  41 S.  There  are  but  scanty  indications  in  the  Old 
Testament  laws  and  customs  as  to  the  earliest  Hebrew 
conceptions  of  the  marital  relation.  Hut  the  evidence 
is  strongly  in  favour  of  the  assumi)tion  that  the  wife  was 
hehi,  from  the  old  Semitic  times,  to  be  the  property  of 
the  husband.  The  fli-st  aigument  is  to  b(i  drawn  from 
the  terminology  of  the  relation.  The  immemorial  word 
for  "husband"  in  Hebrew  and  the  cognate  idioms  is  hti<(l, 
a  lord  oi  owner,  and  the  corresponding  verbal  root  means 


J'atrntrchal  Tkvonj,  p.  100  ff. 


f 


Ch.  II,  §419     EVIDKXCK  OF  THE  TKIlMIXOl.OGY 


61 


uiiivevsally  to  rule  or  possess,  and  in  Hebrew  in  the 
passive  as  applied  to  the  woman,  to  be  married.  It  is 
needless  to  furnish  many  examples  in  the  Old  Testament: 
see,  for  instance,  Gen.  xx.  3;  IIos.  ii.  10;  Isa.  Ixii.  4,  and 
the  whole  phraseology  of  the  legal  sections,  and  compare 
1  i'et.  iii.  0:  "Sarah  obeyed  Abraham,  calling  him  h)rd." 
That  in  Arabic  and  Aramaic  the  same  verbal  root  means 
"to  possess  a  wife  or  concubine"  is  highly  significant, 
when  it  is  remembered,  on  the  one  hand,  that  concubines 
\\  ere  slaves  of  the  husband,  and  on  the  other,  that  a  female 
slave  might  become  the  lawful  wife  of  her  owner.  An 
argument  may  also  fairly  be  based  upon  the  language  of 
the  tenth  commandment  of  the  Decalogue  (Ex.  xx.  17), 
in  which,  among  the  most  valuable  items  of  personal  i)rop- 
erty,  the  wife  is  mentioned,  and  actually  placed  l)etween 
the  house  and  the  domestic  animals.  There  seems  indeed 
reason  to  believe  that  according  to  primitive  custom  the 
wife  or  wives  were  be([ueathed  to  the  care  of  the  eldest 
son  along  with  the  other  chattels.' 

§  419.  Further,  the  means  employed  to  secure  a  wife 
in  primitive  times  furnish  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
general  [)rinci[)le.  The  method  was  essentially  one  of 
purchase,  which  in  the  case  of  Jacob  and  the  daughters 
of  Laban  was  conunuted  into  servile  labour  to  the  same 
purpose.  The  term  translated  "dowry,"  in  Gen.  xxxiv. 
1*2 ;  ICx.  xxii.  10,  means  purchase  money.  That  this  was 
not  always  literally  insisted  on  l)y  the  father  or  other 
guardian  of  the  bride,  and  that,  as  in  the  case  of  Hebekah 
(Gen.  xxiv.),  the  contract  was  just  as  readily  ralitied  by 
the  giving  of  presents,  is  only  what  would  be  naturally 
expected.  Rut  that  the  fundamental  usage  could  be  en- 
forced at  any  time  is  shown  from  the  conditions  prescribed 
by  Saul  for  David  (1  Sam.  xviii.  'J.*)),  in  connection  with 
the  suit  for  his  daughter  Michal.     That  the  father  of  the 


'  Hence,  the  action  of  Heuben  (Gen.  xxxv.  22     xlix.  4),  of  Absalom 

(2  Siiin.  xvi, '_'()  ft'.),  ami  uf  Abii-r.  Saul's  cuiisiii  (2  Siuu.  iii.  7  f.),  was 
regarikil  as  an  aiuuiia  at  usiaitauon.     See  Xowack,  HA.  I,  348. 


02 


HUSBANDS  AND   WIVES 


Book  VII 


bridegroom  was  looked  to  for  the  procuring  of  the  bride 
(e.g.  Jud.  xiv.  3),  indicates  both  the  paternal  power  of  the 
liead  of  the  house  and  the  subjection  of  the  newly  ex- 
pected member  of  the  family.  Pointing  in  the  same  direc- 
tion are  the  privileges  of  divorce  granted  to  the  husband. 
The  most  explicit  prescription  on  the  subject  is  Deut. 
xxiv.  1,  aimed  at  disgraceful  or  offensive  conduct  (cf. 
tlie  same  phrase  in  xxiii.  14,  which  has  its  explanation  in 
xxiii.  9).  With  this  passage  compare  Jer.  iii.  1.  and  Isa. 
1.  1,  and  the  command  in  Matt.  v.  31.  Add  to  this  the 
enactments  as  to  the  fulfilment  of  vows  made  by  wives, 
given  in  Numb.  xxx.  These  are  summarized  as  follows 
(v.  13)  :  "  Every  vow  and  every  binding  oath  to  aOlict  the 
soul  her  husband  may  establish  it,  or  her  husband  may 
make  it  void."  Finally,  we  may  defer  to  the  statement 
of  Paul  (Horn.  vii.  1  f.),  who  affirms  directly  that  accord- 
ing to  the  usage  of  his  nation  the  wife  is  legally  subject 
to  the  husband. 

§  420.  Exceptional  instances  must  be  looked  at  nar- 
rowly, for  it  is  just  such  cases  that  are  chosen  by  the 
deniers  of  patria  potestas  among  the  Hebrews  to  prove 
their  contention.  In  apparent  contravention  of  recog- 
nized laws  and  usages,  women  in  the  historical  times  of 
Israel  appear  to  have  enjoyed  a  considerable  range  of 
freedom  and  independence  of  action.  While  the  father 
had  the  power  to  choose  and  procure  a  wife  for  his  son 
or  a  husband  for  his  daughter,  young  people  are  seen  tc» 
mix  freely  enough  with  one  a/iother,  and  virtually  to  do 
the  choosing  for  themselves  (of.  Numb,  xxxvi.  6).  Again, 
in  the  case  of  married  women,  we  observe  that  the  initia- 
tive is  sometimes  taken  by  them  in  matters  of  importance, 
and  what  is  more  significant  they  would  appear  to  l)e  at 
liberty  to  dispose  of  a  share  of  the  common  property 
(1  Sam.  XXV.  14  ff. ;  2  K.  iv.  8  ff.;  cf.  Isa.  iii.  12, 10  ft".,  xxxii. 
1>  ff. ;  Prov.  xiv.  1,  ind  especially  xxxi.  10  ff.).  The  expla- 
nation of  this  [)henonienon  does  not  lie  uj)on  the  suifnce 
of  the  historical  records ;  but,  as  we  shall  see  presently,  it 


!      I 


Cu.  II,  §  421 


PRACTICAL  RELAXATION 


63 


is  connected  with  the  deepest  and  most  potential  forces 
in  the  life  of  Israel. 

§  421.  The  experience  of  the  Israelitish  family  in  this 
respect  is  ir.  its  outward  aspect  not  witaout  historical 
parallel.  Indeed,  tlie  very  best  analogy  is  afforded  by 
the  history  of  that  very  civilization  whose  family  life 
furnishes  the  extreme  ancient  exemplification  of  marital 
control.  The  original  prescriptions  as  to  marital  gov- 
ernment, and  the  legal  powers  which  they  perpetually 
carried  with  them,  throughout  the  history  of  ancient 
Rome,  must  be  carefully  distinguished  from  the  actual 
practice  that  inevitably  grew  up  with  the  expansion 
of  the  state  and  the  differentiation  of  social  habits  and 
relations.  Thus  under  the  Roman  law,  while  a  widow 
could  inherit  property  along  with  the  children,  both  she 
and  the  other  females  of  the  family  were  debarred  from 
its  administration.  Yet  we  find  that  at  the  end  of  the 
third  century  R.c.  both  the  marital  and  tutorial  powers 
were  frequently  set  at  nought  by  both  widows  and  mar- 
ried women  with  respect  to  their  propert}';  and  in  169 
B.C.  they  had  accumulated  so  much  capital  that  the  states- 
men of  the  time  resorted  to  the  expedient  of  prohibiting 
to  women,  by  statute,  the  right  of  inheritance.  The  law 
was  thus  actually  made  more  stringent  than  it  had  been 
even  in  the  days  when  the  household  laws  were  framed, 
and  when  the  idea  of  emancipation  of  women  was  a  thing 
quite  inconceivable.^  Yet  both  traditional  sanctions  and 
legislation  were  ineffective.  Tlu;  marital  power  of  disci- 
pline was  generally  held  in  jibeyance  in  all  the  later 
iiistory ;  and  the  prerogative  of  the  wife  was  gradually 
enlarged  through  various  devices,  ehief  of  whieh  was  the 
persistence  of  the  bride  in  remaining  under  tiie  mnniDi  of 
her  own  family  bead,  so  tliul  she  could  legally  continue 
a  member  of  u.-  iiniselu'ld  of  her  birth.'-  The  lamenta- 
ble rc>uiti»,  in  the  ever-increasing  laxity  of  the  marriage 

1  S«e  Mtmmmn,  Hi»t<mj  of  Rome  ( Kng.  tr.),  II,  482. 
'  Cf.  Ileani.  i7i«  Anjan  Ilouaehold,  p.  471. 


04 


WOMKN   IN   BABYLONIA 


Book  VII 


?l 


i 


bond  and  the  frequency  of  divorce,  contributed  largely 
to  the  internal  dissolution  of  the  Roman  state. 

§  422.  It  is  interesting,  further,  to  observe  how,  in 
Babylon  and  Assyria  also,  the  primitive  bonds  were  relaxed 
which  restricted  the  privileges  of  women,  and  which  were 
forged  in  the  old  Semitic  camp  before  the  dispersion  of 
the  united  family  (cf.  §  418).  So  far  as  we  have  direct 
evidence,  the  "  emancipation  "  was  particularly  effected  in 
the  sphere  of  business  relations.  Unfortunately,  we  have 
clear  testimony  on  the  subject  so  far  only  from  the  docu- 
ments of  the  later  historical  times,  and  it  is  as  yet  impos- 
sible to  learn  at  what  stage  in  the  development  of  society 
independence  of  action  began  to  be  accorded  to  women. 
Among  the  juridical  inscriptions  of  which  such  an  abun- 
dance is  already  at  the  disposal  of  Assyriologists,  frequent 
instances  are  furnished  of  business  relations  maintained 
independently  by  women  both  married  and  single.  For 
details  I  can  only  liere  refer  to  the  critical  works  which 
have  made  the  facts  accessible  and  the  subject  intelligible 
even  to  the  lay  reader.^  Besides  inheriting  and  controlling 
their  own  property,  they  are,  in  this  class  of  documents, 
conspicuous  as  money-lenders. 

§  423.  A  singular  phenomenon,  as  unique  in  modern 
as  in  ancient  civilization,  requires  at  least  to  be  alluded 
to  in  thi.M  connection.  I  refer  to  the  elevation  of  women 
to  the  highest  social  and  civil  positions,  oven  among  com- 
munities that  refuse  to  them  the  exercise  of  elementary 
political  functions.  No  complete  explanation  of  the  facts 
Clan  as  yet  be  given.  It  is  easier  to  account  for  tlie  part 
played  by  prophetesses  in  ancient  Israel  and  elsewhere, 
for  such  an  oflite  does  not  directly  imply  or  involve  social 
elevation.     More  dilhcult  is  it  to  explain  the  origin  of 

•  of  the  imblicatioiis  of  texts  of  bus' leM  docuiiu'iits,  the  most  importHiit 
is  .1.  \.  StriissiuiiiiT  Insrliriftcn  <'m  Xixfinniilus.  Ltipzig,  188H.  For  hvWc- 
tioiis  witli  tiaii>liiti<)iis  ami  cniniihiits,  see  .J.  <  (ppert  aiulJ.  M6nant,  7>orj(- 
nifiit:<  inruU'fHi'H  ,if  V Ans'irie  et  de  la  ChahUf,  Paris,  1877  ;  and  especially 
F.  K.  reiser,  Keilschri/tUche  ActenstUckcy  1889,  and  Jiabylonischc  Ver- 
triiiie,  1800. 


I 


Cii.  II,  §424     PRKUOGATIVEK  AND  FATE  OF  WOMEN 


05 


"([ueens,"  \vlio  still  persist  as  an  institution  in  many 
communities,  civilized  and  uncivilized,  to  the  present  day, 
and  who  were  frecjuent  also  among  the  ancient  Semites, 
especially  among  the  northern  and  southern  Arahians.' 
Similar  was  the  appearance  of  women  as  "judges"  in  early 
Arabia,'-^  and  at  least  once  among  the  Hebrews  (Jud.  iv.,  v.). 
The  hypothesis  may  be  well  founded  which  ascribes  the 
usage  to  u  more  primitive  state  of  general  female  pre- 
domimince.  In  any  case  these  abnormities  are  not  the 
result  of  the  causes  which  have  led  to  the  enfranchisement 
of  women.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  not  consistent 
with  the  usages  of  communities,  such  as  those  of  later 
Arabian  times,  in  which  women  are  the  virtual  slaves  of 
men. 

§  424.  One  or  two  general  remarks  are  necessary  at 
this  point.  At  a  certain  stage  in  the  history  of  every 
coinnuuiity  that  has  permanently  risen  above  savagerv, 
the  predominance  of  the  husband  and  father  in  the  family 
is  found  already  established  by  statute  or  by  recognized 
usage.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  relative  stantling 
of  the  mother  in  the  comnuuiity  before  its  arrival  at 
tins  stage,  her  position  is  now  lixed  and  determined  by 
the  interests  of  the  primitive  state.  The  wife,  as  being  the 
mother,  now  exists  and  is  maintained  and  protected  for 
the  sake  of  the  perpetuation  of  the  family.  The  husband 
is  necessarily  the  absolute  controller  of  the  whole  liouse- 
hold ;  but  his  i)ractical  relations  to  wife  and  children  are 
varied  in  dilVerent  connnunities.  From  the  fundamental 
rule  of  absolute  subjection  there  are  far  greater  deviations 
among  various  races  and  i)eoples  in  the  case  of  the  wife 
than  are  found  in  the  case  of  the  children.  In  ancient 
society  there  was  practically  little  difTerence  anywhere  in 
the  relations  of  the  children  to  tho  house-father.  In  the 
case  of  the  wives,  although  theore'.ically  the  Imsband  had 
the  ultimate  control,  general  social  conditions  materially 

»  Cf.  §  .3:]4  ami  W.  K.  Smith,  Kinship,  p.  104  ami  171. 
Kinship,  I.e. 


60 


EFFECTS  OF   POLYGAMY 


Book  VII 


N 


affected  their  actual  status  in  the  liousehold.  Polygamj', 
for  example,  when  practised  within  narrow  limits,  tended 
for  a  time  to  give  comparative  freedom  to  the  wives, 
because  the  attention  of  the  husband  and  father  could  not 
be  so  strongly  concentrated  upon  each  individual  group  of 
children  with  their  several  mothei's,  as  necessarily  was  the 
case  with  a  single  family  group  and  the  one  mother.  It  was 
among  the  monogamous  Romans  that  the  strictest  type  of 
the  marital  as  well  as  of  the  paternal  relation  was  evolved. 
On  the  other  liand,  polygamy  as  perpetuated  among  any 
people,  and  virtually  limited  only  by  the  ability  to  support 
the  liousehold,  tends  to  the  subjection  of  the  wives  through 
their  moral  degradation.  This  is  exemplified  among  the 
mediii'val  and  modern  Arabs  as  contrasted  with  the  early 
Hebrews,  the  ancient  society  of  the  peninsula  having  ap- 
parently had  more  resemblance  to  that  of  ancient  Israel. 
A  nomadic  life,  however,  is  apt  to  retard  tlie  emancipation 
of  women,  for  the  reason  that  there  is  little  scope  afforded 
for  their  interests  and  sictivities  in  their  monotonous  round 
of  family  service,  and  the  stationary,  unprogressive  course 
of  life  in  which  the  children  have  to  play  their  parts. 
For  as  the  wife  originally  received  her  status  as  being  the 
mute rfaiu ilia s,  so  her  appreciation,  her  increasing  preroga- 
tive, in  a  word,  her  emancipation,  is  due  to  the  development 
of  the  family  as  a  whole ;  above  all,  to  the  awakening  of 
ambition  in  the  souls  of  tlie  children  through  the  enlarge- 
ment of  their  career  and  the  opening  up  of  unlimited 
opportunities  of  activity  and  influence. 

§  42').  We  lay  stres;;  on  the  relations  of  nomadic  life, 
because  they  were  the  unseen  foundations  on  which  later 
society  was  constructed,  as  their  traditions  and  their  in- 
herited terminology  equally  attest.  But  we  are  more 
directly  concerned  with  the  transitions  to  settled  civiliza- 
tion, and  ohe  social  changes  which  accompanied  the  tribal 
and  national  development  of  the  Hebrew  people.  And 
in  this  connection  we  may  observe  that  the  early  family 
legislation  of  the  Hebrews  corresponds  to  their  contempo- 


■tl 


Ch.  11,  §  425   EFFECTS  OF  FIXED  PROPERTY 


07 


raiieous  stage  of  social  development  pretty  inuoli  us  tlio 
early  constitution  of  Rome  represented  its  stage  of  national 
advancement.     This  may  account  for  the  general  similarity 
in  tlie  provisions  made  under  the  two  systems  for  deal- 
ing with  wife  and  children.     In  other  wovds,  it  was  the 
sense  of  the  vital  importance  of  the  newly  accjuired  prop- 
ertif  which  led  to  the  statutory  provisions  concerning  tlie 
family.     I^egislation    is,  strictly   speaking,  not   necessary 
among  nomads,  and  among  them,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  usage 
takes  its  place.     But  where  a  permanent  settlement  has 
been   made,  and  landed  possessions  have  Ijeen  acquired, 
fii-st  hy  the  clans  and  then  by  the  families,  to  whom  they 
come  to  be  permanently  allotted,  tlie  conditions  are  essen- 
tially changed.     The  conventions  and  agreements  that  are 
made  between  clan  and  clan  or  family  and  family  for  the 
adjustment  of  concurrent  claims  involve  as  their  necessary 
complement  the  gradual  institution  of  family  laws.     The 
family  or  household  is  identilied  with  the  property ;  and 
in  absolute  accordance  with  the  principle  of  civic  gov- 
ernment  which   succeeded    to    the    patriarchal    rule,   the 
house-master  becomes  the  controller  of  the  whole.     Hence 
primitive  laws  about  the  disi)osition  of  wives  and  children 
are  necessarily  rigorous.    And  it  was  just  among  the  people 
that  had  and  continued  to  have  the  stronjrest  sense  of 
property  that  the  marital  and  paternal  [)rerogatives  were 
the  completest  and  most  imperious.     What  enormous  con- 
sc(|uences  resulted  from  tl'e  conception  of  the  relations 
of  the  family  and  the  home  in  the  Roman  state,  which 
was  in  its  essence  merely  the  reproduction  and  ampliti- 
cation  of  the  constitution  of  the  household,  the  political 
and  social  history  of  the  whole  Western  world  reveals  and 
attests.     In  the  constitution  of  the  Hebrew  family,  also, 
as  modilied  by  its  settlement  in  Canaan,  we  shall  find  the 
subsequent  history  of  the  people  inq)licitly  and  iKitentially 
contained.    There  lay  the  secret  spring  of  their  racial  vital- 
ity, their  patriotism,  their  national  solidarity.    As  we  shall 
sec  presently,  it  gave  also  form  and  col  .ur  to  their  literature. 


VCWi 


I  f 

1    i 


il 


li 


11^ 


68 


ELEVATION   OF   IIEBKEW   WOMEN 


Book  Vll 


§  420.  What  we  spt'ciiiUy  observe  in  the  Hebrews 
as  contnistecl  with  other  iineient  peoples  is,  not  merely 
the  retaining  of  tite  rigorous  legal  bonds  by  whieli  the 
wife  was  subjected  to  the  husband,  but  the  establishment 
of  a  relation  of  moral  ecjuality  between  them  along  with 
a  real  community  of  feeling  and  unity  of  aim  and  pur- 
pose. Without  doubt  tiiis  was  profoundly  connected 
with  the  worship  of  Jehovah  and  its  elevating  and  puri- 
fying Inrtuenccs.  And  now  we  may  see  clearly  the  social 
background  of  the  manifold  diversified  representations 
given  us  of  the  relations  of  Jehovah  to  his  people,^  as  set 
forth  under  the  guise  of  conjugal  associations.  This  is 
not  the  place  to  [)articularize.  But  just  observe  how  here 
again  the  claim  of  ownership  and  authority  is  asserted 
even  over  the  spouse  that  has  wilfully  wandered  farthest 
from  the  love  and  care  of  the  husband,  as  in  the  inlin- 
itely  pathetic  and  significant  story  of  Hosea's  marital 
experiences  and  its  ap[)lication  to  Jehovah's  relations 
with  his  people.  Ownership  is  expressed  even  in  the  act 
of  disowning  (IIos.  ii.  2  if.).  On  the  other  hand,  we 
may  see  how  the  tenderness  and  affection  of  an  ideal,  and 
we  may  be  sure  not  unconmion,  Hebrew  marriage  is  used 
to  image  fortii  the  inalienable  and  inextinguishable  affec- 
tion of  Jehovah  for  his  peo[)le.  Isaiah  liv.,  that  won- 
derful idealization  of  the  marriage  bond,  presupposes  an 
elevation  and  transfiguiation  of  woman  in  her  relation  to 
man  as  high  and  Ix'autiful  as  that  which  has  been  achieved 
in  our  Christian  civilization.  And  the  conn)rehensiveness 
of  the  picture  is  as  admirable  and  touching  as  the  intensity 
and  tenderness  of  feeling  displayed  in  its  colouring.  All 
that  awakens  interest,  sympathy,  and  chivalric  regard  in 


1  ".Jehovah's  land,"  so  closoly  ulentified  in  the  Hebrew  conception  with 
the  people  of  .lehovali,  is  likewise  associated  with  its  Lord,  its  true  Ba'al, 
by  the  terms  of  the  marriage  relation.  See  Isa.  Ixii.  4.  It  was  a  common 
notion  among  the  Semitic  peoples  ( W.  U.  Smith,  KS.  p.  05  ff. )  that  the 
land  was  the  spouse  of  its  bu'dl.  It  was  left  to  the  Hebrews  to  spiritualize 
and  refine  this  conception,  with  so  many  other  traditional  ideas. 


Cii.  II,  §  427     WIFELY  RELATIONS  IN  LITERATURE 


09 


11 


the  vicissitudes  of  Jewish  woiimnhuod  is  hiouj^ht  hufore 
us  by  a  single  stroke  of  the  pencil  —  the  blushing  slmnie 
of  the  slighted  maiden,  the  re[)n)ach  of  the  isolated  widow, 
the  hoi)eless  grief  of  the  deserted  s[)0use  (v.  4,  0).  One 
central  word  gathers  up  the  elements  and  motives  of  the 
atYection  and  devotion  of  the  husband:  Jehovah,  who  is 
the  husband-lord  (cf.  Jer.  xxxi.  32)  of  his  people,  is 
also  their  "Redeemer"  their  Goel  (y.  5),  the  vindicator 
of  family  rights,  the  ciianipion  of  the  abaiuloned,  the 
wronged,  and  the  oppressed.  A  sociological  fact  of 
Hebrew  domestic  life  stands  out  here  as  clearly  as  do  the 
spiritual  lessons  of  the  [)assagc:  it  is  the  liusband  that 
is  the  emjincipator  of  the  wife.  The  primary  traditional 
autiiority  is  not  foregone;  but  it  yields  at  length  to  the 
diviner  power  of  personal  regard  and  loyal  devotion.  It 
is  no  great  psychological  interval  that  se[>arates  the 
Prophet  of  the  Kxile  from  the  Apostle  of  the  early 
Christian  age.  In  one  breath  Paul  asserts  the  lieadship 
of  Christ  over  his  Church,  and  his  love  and  sacrifice  for 
it,  along  with  the  authority  of  the  husband  over  the  wife, 
and  the  love  with  which  he  should  cherish  her;  while, 
like  his  great  prototype,  he  makes  the  human  relation  the 
counterpart  of  the  divine  (Kph.  v.  'I'l  tT.). 

§  427.  A  few  words  must  be  added  as  to  the  specific 
relations  of  the  children  to  the  parents.  We  have  seen 
that,  as  far  as  the  testimony  of  tlie  narrative  portions  of 
the  Old  Testament  is  ccmcerned  (§  412  ff.),  the  power  of 
the  fatlier  was  reckoned  to  ha  absolute.  The  meagre  pro- 
visinns  of  the  legislation  confirm  this  view  of  the  pateiiial 
right.  In  the  all-important  matter  of  marriage  the  father 
could  espouse  either  the  son  or  the  daughter  to  whomso- 
ever he  wished  (Ex.  xxi.  9  f. ;  cf.  Jud.  xiv.  2  ff. ;  1  Sam. 
xviii.  17  ff.,  27,  XXV.  44;  2  Sam.  iii.  13  ff.).  As  to  the 
daughters,  the  whole  system  of  procedure  indicates  that 
they  were  originally  regarded  and  treated  as  slaves  of  the 
father.  Thus  brides  were  {)urchased  by  their  suitors 
from  their  fathers,  and  though,  no  doubt,  the  rule  came 


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70 


POSITION  OF  DAUCxHTERS 


Book  VII 


often  to  be  relaxed  or  broken,  yet  we  find  it  enforced  in 
the  eighth  century  B.C.  (Hos.  iii.  2;  cf.  Ex.  xxi.  7  f.), 
in  a  case  when  it  was  necessary  to  make  the  covenant 
especially  binding.  In  general,  the  daughters  of  the 
family  were,  to  use  the  classical  phraseology,  restricted 
both  in  familia  and  pecunia.  As  to  the  former  disabilitj-, 
we  may  notice  the  fact  that  in  the  numerous  genealogical 
lists  of  the  Hebrews  a  female  progenitor  is  scarcely  ever 
mentioned.  The  most  striking  illustration  of  the  prin- 
ciple is  afforded  by  the  genealogical  tables  given  in 
Matthew  i.  and  Luke  iii.,  which  were  drawn  up  so  many 
centuries  after  the  foundations  of  Hebrew  society  were 
laid.  Their  restriction  in  pecunia  is  exhibited  just  as 
plainly  in  the  special  provisions  made  for  their  inheri- 
tance of  property.  It  was  only  when  there  were  no  sons 
in  the  family  that  they  could  inherit  at  all;  and  then 
there  was  put  upon  them  the  further  limitation  that  they, 
with  their  property,  were  to  be  at  the  disposal  of  men  of 
their  own  tribe  alone  (Numb,  xxvii.  8;  xxxvi.  2  ff.). 
In  the  first  instance  they  were  deprived  of  co-ordinate 
rights  with  men,  and,  secondly,  they  were  treated  as 
appendages  and  auxiliaries  of  the  tribe  as  well  as  of  the 
household.  Their  condition,  as  a  whole,  is  a  corollary 
from  the  status  of  the  wives  and  mothers  of  the  com- 
munity, a  direct  evolution  of  the  principle  that  the 
primary  function  of  woman  was  to  serve  her  people 
through  the  bearing  and  rearing  of  children.  Hence 
marriage  was  regarded  by  every  maiden  in  Israel  as  the 
normal  and  ideal  state.  By  it  she  was  appreciated;  in 
it  she  realized  her  mission. 

§  428.  The  treatment  of  sons  differed  from  that  of 
daughters,  not  in  virtue  of  the  theoretical  constitution 
*  of  the  household,  but  in  consequence  of  the  functions 
of  the  former  as  family  representatives  and  prospective 
house-fathers.  Great  significance  must  be  attached  to  the 
prerogatives  of  the  first-born.  To  him  came  a  double  por- 
tion of  the  inheritance  (Deut.  xxi.  17),  with  the  duty  of 


id 


J » 


Ch.  II,  §  429 


THE  BIRTH-RIGHT 


71 


maintaining  the  religious  rites  of  the  household,  and  of 
supporting  the  women  of  the  family.  Hence  the  prestige 
that  invested  the  eldest  son  from  childhood.  Among 
other  weighty  results,  it  was  this  principle  that  made 
hereditary  chieftainship  and  kingship  possible.  Hence, 
in  general,  the  fateful  consequences  of  the  alienation  of 
the  birth-right.^  These,  in  conjunction  with  the  ultimate 
and  supreme  authority  of  the  house-father,  are  imaged 
forth  most  powerfully  in  the  classical  example  of  the  sons 
of  Isaac.  With  all  this  accords  the  legal  prohibition  of 
interference,  in  any  case,  with  the  rights  of  primogeniture 
(Deut.  xxi.  15-17).  Such  a  high  prerogative  is,  of  course, 
dependent  upon  and  subordinated  to  the  cardinal  principle 
of  family  headship.  This  is  illustrated  from  the  fact  that 
in  the  eye  of  the  law  the  heir  himself  was,  after  all,  only 
a  slave  of  his  father  —  as  we  are  reminded  by  one  familiar 
with  both  Jewish  and  Gentile  law  and  custom,  writing 
near  the  close  of  the  ancient  r^gime.^ 

§  429.  The  social  and  legal  position  of  the  first-born 
also  plays  a  great  part  in  the  Hebrew  religion  and  ritual. 
The  whole  of  the  people  of  Israel,  as  owing  their  life  to 
Jehovah  and  as  being  his  peculiar  possession  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  were  viewed  as  the  first-born  of 
Jehovah.  This  consideration  explains  the  symbolical 
and  vicarious  function  of  the  eldest  born  of  the  family  as 
being  dedicated  to  God,  and,  also,  the  ceremony  of  his 
redemption.  As  a  symbol  of  the  pre-eminence  of  the  first- 
born in  right  and  authority  the  usage  of  the  term  is  famil- 

1  This  was  perhaps  always  theoretically  within  the  right  of  the  house- 
father, though  we  have  examples  of  it  only  in  patriarchal  times  (Gen. 
xxvil.,  xlviii.  14  ff.,  xlix.  3  f.).  Yet  this  was  the  prerogative  by  which 
the  kingly  succession  was  taken  from  Adonijah  as  well  as  Absalom  by 
David  and  given  to  Solomon. 

2  "The  heir,  as  long  as  he  is  a  child,  differeth  nothing  from  a  slave, 
though  he  is  lord  of  all"  (Gal.  iv.  1).  Hearn  (The  Aryan  Honsdiohl, 
p.  91)  acutely  remarks  that  Paul  addressed  this  observation  to  a  people 
among  whom  the  Roman  conception  of  patria  potestas  was  exceptionally 
exemplified,  according  to  the  express  statement  of  Gaius,  i.  56. 


I! 


r 


i|i 


n  i 


72 


THE   FIRST-BORN  IN  LITERATURE 


Book  VII 


iar.  See  especially  Ex.  iv.  22;  Jer.  xxxi.  9;  Ps.  Ixxxix. 
27.  Like  other  terms  of  relationship,  this,  also,  is  trans- 
ferred to  higher  spiritual  conceptions,  even  the  highest 
and  most  sublime.  Christ,  as  the  only  Son  of  God,  was 
one  for  whom  no  redemption  was  possible.  Indeed,  in  his 
mediatorial  function  He  becomes  himself  the  Redeemer 
of  his  human  brethren,  their  Leader  in  suffering  and 
triumph,  their  Archetype,  and  therefore  the  first-born 
among  them  all  (Heb.  ii.  10  ff. ;  Col.  i.  18;  Rom.  viii.  29). 
The  symbol  reaches  the  extreme  limit  of  its  fipplication 
when,  in  view  of  the  comijleteness  and  universality  of 
his  redemption  He  is  called  the  first-born  of  the  whole 
creation  (Col.  i.  15).  Another  figure,  equally  bold  and 
magnificent,  is  employed  when  the  children  of  God,  ex- 
alted alike  to  pre-eminent  rank  and  privilege,  are  called 
"  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born  "  (Heb. 
xii.  23). 

§  430.  The  preceding  observations  are  little  more  than 
an  attempt  to  gather  and  utilize  some  of  the  more  impor- 
tant applications  of  the  principal  terms  of  relationship 
among  the  Hebrews.  An  exhaustive  treatment  of  the 
subject  would  be  of  the  highest  value,  for  into  these 
terms  has  been  interfused  the  spirit  of  the  immemorial 
traditions  of  the  people. ^  The  comprehensive  and  domi- 
nant idea  is,  of  course,  that  of  the  family  bond.  In  con- 
nection therewith  it  may  be  well  to  emphasize  what  has 
already  been  frequently  suggested,  that  the  physical  idea 
of  parentage  is  not  the  only,  perhaps  even  not  the  prin- 
cipal, notion,  associated  with  the  terms  for  "father"  and 
"mother,"  at  any  stage  in  their  history.  Moreover,  the 
respective  spheres  of  the  parents  are  not  mutually  exclu- 
sive.   In  the  conception  of  the  father,  authority  and  protec- 

1 1  would  suggest  to  Biblical  students  who  have  not  yet  taken  up  the 
subject,  to  begin  by  going  carefully  through  the  treatment  of  the  articles 
3N,  DN,  ]2,  P3,  in  Brown's  Gesenius,  studying  the  references,  and  collating 
tliem,  in  chronological  order,  in  the  light  of  sound  philological  and  his- 
torical principles. 


Ch.  II,  §  431   FATHERHOOD  AND  MOTHERHOOD 


73 


tion  predominate;  in  that  of  the  mother,  love,  care,  and 
tenderness.  And  yet  fatherhood  is  not  infrequently 
invested  with  tenderness  and  pity,^  while  motherhood  is 
sometimes  a  type  of  authority.  In  the  latter  ease,  how- 
evei',  a  distinction  must  be  made :  the  father  commands, 
the  mother  instructs  and  directs  (e.g.  Prov.  vi.  20).  Still, 
in  certain  spheres  appropriate  to  maternal  influence  the 
initiative  may  be  taken  by  the  mother.  These  are  par- 
ticularly the  provinces  of  religious  and  moral  education 
and  the  region  of  domestic  life.  An  extreme  instance, 
suggested  by  the  former,  is  Hannah's  determining  the 
priestly  career  of  her  son  (1  Sam.  i.).  Another,  sug- 
gested by  the  latter,  is  Hagar's  providing  a  wife  for 
Ishmael  (Gen.  xxi.  21),  though  this  was  apparently  in 
accordance  with  the  ideas  of  female  independence  prev- 
alent among  the  nomadic  and  semi-nomadic  tribes  on  the 
southern  borderland  of  Palestine  (cf.  Job  xlii.  15;  Prov. 
xxxi.  1, 10  ff.).  The  usage  of  the  words  for  son  and  daugh- 
ter, on  the  other  hand,  brings  into  special  view  obedience, 
honour,  and  reverence. 

§  431.  What  I  wish,  however,  to  emphasize  is,  that 
such  terms  of  relationship  embrace  ideas  that  go  far 
beyond  the  mere  notion  of  kinship.  For  example,  the 
father  is,  in  general,  a  protector  and  guardian.  The 
term  is  specially  applied  also  to  the  patron  of  a  class  or 
guild,2(Gen.  iv.  20  f.),  and  quite  freely  besides  to  priests 
(Jud.  xvii.  10;  xviii.  19),  prophets  (2  K.  ii.  12;  vi.  21; 
xiii.  14;  Isa.  xliii.  27),  and  counsellors  (Gen.  xlv.  8; 
cf.  Isa.  ix.  5).^    It  is,  in  fact,  doubtful  whether  the  word 


1  So  also  the  role  of  motherhood  is  attributed  to  Jehovah  by  the  Second 
Isaiah  (Isa.  Ixvi.  13). 

-  Correlative  are,  of  course,  such  phrases  as  "sons  of  the  Prophets," 
and  the  frequent  Assyrian  term,  "sons  of  architects"  for  builders  and 
workmen  generally,  e.g.  the  builders  of  the  ark,  Delurje  Tablet,  line  81  ; 
cf.  Jensen,  Babylonische  Kosmologie,  p.  414. 

*  In  Isa.  ix.  6,  observe  the  parallelism  between  the  phrase  "everlasting 
father,"  used  of  the  Messiah,  and  the  preceding  "a  wonder  of  a  counsel- 
lor" (cf.  §720). 


74 


EXTREMES  OF  PATERNALISM 


Book  VII 


was  originally  restricted  to  fathers  alone,  and  whether  it 
was  not  rather  like  the  Aryan  word  patar,  in  this  sense 
specialized  from  a  more  general  meaning.^  In  further 
illustration  of  the  far-reaching  scope  of  domestic  and 
social  terminology,  I  may  be  permitted  to  cite  the  well- 
known  fact  that  the  "religion  of  Confucius"  was  based 
upon  an  observance  of  the  three  fundamental  laws  of  rela- 
tionship, those  of  sovereign  and  subject,  father  and  child, 
husband  and  wife.  The  social  and  religious  life  of  China 
as  well  as  of  Japan,  which  adopted  and  extended  Confu- 
cianism, has  been,  in  great  measure,  determined  by  a 
development  of  the  cardinal  ideas  of  such  relations.  Of 
course  this  great  teacher  found  the  institutions  already  in 
existence  in  the  sixth  century  B.C.  But  his  work  was  to 
seize  upon  the  ideas  already  associated  with  the  terms  in 
question,  and  emphasize  and  extend  them  so  that  society 
should  crystallize  itself  about  them.  How  different  from 
our  own  are  the  ideas  of  sovereign  and  subject  prevailing 
in  China  with  its  paternal  despotism  and  its  semi-deifica- 
tion of  the  emperor !  How  natural  it  was  that  Confucian- 
ism should  unite  in  Japan  with  Mikadoism,  or  belief  in 
the  Mikado's  divine  descent,  and  that  as  a  result  of  that 
syncretism  the  relation  of  lord  and  retainer  came  to  be 
paramount  over  the  others,  even  over  that  of  father  and 
child!  Thus  we  find  in  the  remotest  east  of  Asia  the 
extreme  development  of  tyranny  and  servility  so  charac- 
teristic of  Oriental  peoples  generally.  This  may  suggest 
at  how  great  a  cost  the  refined  politeness  of  the  Oriental 
with  its  essential  obsequiousness  has  been  acquired. 
Again  recurring  to  the  light  thrown  upon  such  subjects 
by  current  phraseology,  it  may  be  observed  that  the  Japan- 
ese language  has  no  word  for  brother  apart  from  the  car- 
dinal distirction  between  younger  and  older  brother.  ^ 

§  432.     The  discussion  of  the  status  of  the  first-born 
(§  428)  has  already  brought  out  something  of  the  spiritual 

1  See  Hearn,  The  Aryan  Household,  p.  281  ff. 

2  See  Griffis,  The  Religions  of  Japan  (1896),  p.  126  ff. 


^1  f !' 


Ch.  II,  §  432         FATHERHOOD  SPIRITUALIZED 


75 


significance  of  the  relations  of  fatherhood  and  sonship.  It 
is  these  relations  which  have,  perhaps,  contributed  most 
largely  to  the  framework  of  metaphor  and  symbol  about 
which  has  been  woven  the  sublime  fabric  of  the  moral 
and  religious  teaching  of  the  Bible.  In  them  we  have 
the  key  to  the  understanding  of  that  larger  spiritual 
nomenclature  which  embraces  the  whole  earth  and  links 
it  with  the  Fatherhood  in  Heaven.  Oriental  society  and 
religion,  including  Semitism,  are  based  upon  paternalism. 
The  worship  of  Jehovah  has  utilized  this  relation  to  the 
full.  But,  at  the  same  time,  it  softened,  humanized,  and 
glorified  it  according  to  the  essential  nature  of  Jehovah 
himself.  Two  broad  facts  or  tendencies  of  the  Biblical 
teaching  may  be  particularized.  They  are  both  in  com- 
plete harmony  with  the  social,  moral,  and  religious  devel- 
opment of  the  Hebrew  people  and  of  the  race.  One  is  that 
the  Hebrew  conception  of  sonship  and  fatherhood  becomes 
more  special,  individual,  and  personal  in  the  progress  of 
sacred  history  and  of  Revelation.  First  we  see  God- 
revealing  himself  as  the  Father  of  all  the  tribes  and 
families  of  the  earth. ^  Then  he  declares  himself  to  be, 
in  a  special  sense,  the  Father  of  the  people  of  Israel,  the 
child  of  privilege  and  choice  (Ex.  iv.  22;  Deut.  xxxii. 
6;  Hos.  xi.  1;  Jer.  xxxi.  20;  Isa.  Ixiii.  16;  Ixiv.  8; 
Mai.  ii.  10;  cf.  §  429).  Again,  he  appears  as  the  Father 
of  individuals  highly  distinguished  by  his  favour  and  pro- 
tection, as  the  theoretic  King  (2  Sam.  vii.  14;  Ps.  Ixxxix. 
26  f. ;  cf.  ii.  6  f.),  or  of  those  who  have  lost  their  earthly 
parents  (Ps.  Ixviii.  5).  His  fatherhood,  in  relation  to 
those  who  are  his  children  through  faith  and  obedience, 
is  the  basis  of  the  religion  of  the  New  Covenant.  "As 
the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  he  reveals 
fatherhood  and  sonship  more  special  still,  which  exhausts 
the  significance  of  all  the  aspects  of  the  relationship. 


m 
■I 

si 


^  Indeed,  of  all  created  things.    According  to  Mai.  ii.  10,  creation  and 
fatherhood  on  the  part  of  God  are  identical, 
and  Job  xxxviii.  28. 


Cf.  Ps.  zc.  2  in  the  original. 


T^ 


i^ 


76 


OLD  AND   NEW  PATERNALISM 


Book  VII 


§  433.  The  other  outstanding  fact  is,  that  fatherhood, 
both  human  and  divine,  becomes  more  a  matter  of  spon- 
taneous sentiment  and  less  a  matter  of  arbitrary  associa- 
tion as,  on  the  one  hand,  human  society  becomes  more 
genial  and  reasonable,  and  as,  on  the  other,  the  nature  of 
God  is  more  fully  revealed.  It  has  been  shown  how  the 
primary  patria  poteatas  was  relaxed  in  Hebrew  history. 
I  need  not  repeat  here  the  citations  which  prove  its  actual 
prevalence  and  its  gradual  mitigation  (§  412  ff.).  But 
it  ma}'  be  pointed  out  that  the  predominant  tone  of  the 
paternal  relation  in  the  Old  Testament  is  that  of  com- 
mand, and  the  appropriate  filial  attitude  that  of  obedience 
and  respect.  The  prevailing  note  is  struck  in  the  paral- 
lelism between  sonship  and  servitude:  "A  son  honoui"3 
his  father  and  a  servant  his  master.  If  then  I  be  a 
father,  where  is  my  honour?  and  if  I  be  a  master,  where 
is  my  fear?"  (Mai.  i.  6).  Other  notes  are  sounded  (Ps. 
ciii.  13;  Prov.  iii.  12)  which  are  a  prelude  to  the  softer 
and  sweeter  strains  of  the  New  Testament.  It  is  in  the 
teaching  of  the  Son  of  God  that  both  fatherhood  and  son- 
ship  are  revealed  in  the  light  of  their  essential  nature  and 
their  inherent  possibilities  (Matt.  vi.  9;  Luke  xv.  11  ft".). 
Only  by  a  parable  could  the  divine  conception  and  the 
human  ideal  be  adequately  set  forth.  Only  so  could  they 
be  disentangled  from  the  associations  —  arbitrary,  mechan- 
ical, slavish  —  of  the  ancient  past  of  Israel  and  of  the 
world.  Only  so  could  they  be  placed  before  men  in  that 
concrete  aspect  which  the  great  Teacher  has  here  made 
for  us  so  simple  and  so  profound,  so  universal,  so  home- 
like, so  unforgetable,  and  so  infinitely  moving.  In  this 
"  pearl  of  parables  "  we  have  the  inward  spiritual  process 
of  Hebrew  domestic  life  exhibited  in  a  single  dramatic 
scene.  The  "elder  son"  (Luke  xv.  29)  indicates  the 
primitive  condition  and,  in  large  measure,  the  Old  Testa- 
ment presentation  of  the  filial  and  paternal  relation :  ser- 
vitude, law,  duty  —  "Lo,  these  many  years  do  I  serve 
thee,  and  I  never  transgressed  a  commandment  of  thine." 


Ch.  II,  §  433   THE  PARABLE  OF  FATHERHOOD 


77 


The  younger  son  shows  in  epitome  the  history  of  the 
moral  and  spiritual  transformation  both  of  society  and  of 
God's  indi\  idual  children,  under  the  holier  and  mightier 
r^ime  of  his  fatherly  patience,  forbearance,  innate,  in- 
vincible love.  "And  he  arose  and  came  to  his  father. 
But  while  he  was  yet  afar  off,  his  father  saw  him  and  was 
moved  with  compassion,  and  ran  and  fell  on  his  neck  and 
kissed  him." 


I ,' 


!■   ! 


i  ( 


i 

i 
1 

i 

>             1 

if! 

If 

,  i  ; 

( 

CHAPTER  III 

THE  HEBREWS  AS  NOMADS  AND  SEMI-NOJVIADS 

§  434.  What  is  usually  called  the  miraculous  in  the 
Old  Testament  narratives  does  not  exhaust  its  marvellous 
elements.  Not  less  wonderful  than  the  decisive  events 
in  which  the  people  of  Jehovah  learned  to  see  the  direct 
intervention  of  the  God  of  Israel,  were  those  long  ante- 
cedent processes  which  were  their  unmarked  but  necessary- 
preparation.  The  Hebrew  mind  took  little  note  of  second 
causes  (§  5);  the  modern  philosopher  deals  with  them 
alone.  The  student  of  the  history  of  Israel  may  well 
cultivate  both  the  ancient  and  the  modern  spirit.  Habit- 
uated to  the  manifest  presence  of  a  controlling  Power, 
he  becomes  more  and  more  reverent,  as  his  knowledge 
grows  from  more  to  more.  As  a  thoughtful  observer  he 
has  been  measuring  the  importance  of  events  and  move- 
ments directly  by  the  range  and  momentum  of  their  his- 
torical influence.  As  a  special  inquirer  he  now  becomes 
accustomed  to  estimate  their  greatness  inversely  by  the 
meagreness  and  feebleness  of  their  obvious  contributory 
forces.  If,  as  we  moderns  have  been  taught,  there  is 
nothing  in  historical  phenomena  which  did  not  lie  implic- 
itl}'^  in  the  antecedent  elements  and  factors,  material, 
intellectual,  and  moral,  then  our  admiration  may  not 
unreasonably  be  evoked  by  the  paramount  marvel  of  the 
ancient  world,  the  evolution  of  the  Hebrew  people  out  of 
a  community  of  shepherds  and  slaves.^     It  was  a  clever 

1  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  notice  that  the  Bible  writers  themselves  were 
much  impressed  by  this  phenomenon.  See  Deut.  xxvi.  5 ;  xxxii.  9  ft. ; 
Ps.  Ixxx.  8  ft. ;  Ixxxi.  6 ;  cv.  11  ff.  ;  Isa.  li.  1  f.  ;  Ezek.  xvi.  3  ft.  et  al. 

78 


Cii.  Ill,  §  434     SIGNIFICANCE  OF  ISRAEL'S  CAREER 


79 


answer  tliat  is  said  to  have  been  given  to  a  skeptical 
prince  by  his  chaplain  when  he  was  asked  to  give  him,  in 
a  word  or  two,  convincing  evidence  of  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity. The  reply  Avas:  "The  Jews,  your  Majesty." 
But  the  Jews,  both  lancient  and  modern,  are  also  silent 
witnesses  to  something  without  which  neither  Chris- 
tianity nor  Judaism  itself  could  ever  have  been.  Their 
invincible  persistence  nitentea  in  adversum  testifies  to  the 
potentiality  of  the  forces  that  went  to  the  making  of 
Israel.  The  stream  cannot  rise  higher  than  the  fountain. 
From  what  divine  heights  then  must  have  descended  the 
influences  that  moulded  and  endowed  that  nation  which 
gave  us  the  Bible  and  the  vitalizing  moral  forces  of  the 
world!  This  perpetual  assertion  of  the  presence  and 
power  of  the  Eternal  is  the  message  of  Israel.  It  was 
the  sentiment  and  conviction  of  its  seers  and  poets, 
absorbed  as  they  were  in  the  thought  of  its  history.  We 
may  well  turn  to  it  again  and  again  while  we  examine 
that  history,  no  matter  how  critically.  Let  it  be  said 
that  it  comes  rather  from  the  heart  than  from  the  mind.^ 
Be  it  so;  it  wells  up  from  the  undivided  heart  and  mind 
of  Israel.  We  may,  at  least,  be  impressed  by  what  such 
faith  has  wrought  for  men,  and  by  its  ever-living,  ever- 
widening  dominion.  Our  latest  idealists  have  attained 
to  nothing  higher  or  deeper  or  further-reaching.  The 
conclusion  of  In  Memoriam  is  no  whit  more  victorious, 
no  whit  more  rational.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  adaptation  to 
the  needs  of  this  present  cultured  age  of  the  faith  in 
the  living  God,  as  it  was  kept  by  those  in  the  olden 
time  of  Israel's  hope  and  patience, 


r 


"  Who  rolled  a  psalm  to  wintry  skies 
And  built  them  fanes  of  fruitless  prayer  ; " 


1  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  word  for  "  mind  "  in  Hebrew  is  the 
same  as  that  for  "  heart."  In  otlier  words,  sentiment  (as  distinguished 
from  emotion,  which  is  otherwise  expressed)  and  r^ection  were  one 
and  tha  same. 


wmma 


80 


HEBREW  HISTORICAL  CANONS 


BookVTI 


and  yet  could 

"  lift  from  out  of  dust 
A  voice  as  unto  Him  that  hears 
A  cry  above  the  conquered  years 
To  One  that  with  us  works,  and  trust. "  * 

§  435.  Such  reflections  are  suggested  by  the  condition 
of  ancient  Israel  at  the  earliest  stage  of  their  existence  as 
a  people.  What  the  character  of  the  Hebrew  community 
was  in  the  long  ages  which  preceded  the  Exodus  from 
Egypt  we  can  learn  partly  from  hints  in  the  Bible  narra- 
tive, partly  by  inference  from  the  known  condition  of 
immigrant  tribes  in  Northern  Egypt,  and  partly  by  what 
modern  comparative  sociology  has  to  tell  us  of  the  char- 
acter of  settlements  made  by  nomadic  peoples  on  the 
borders  of  a  cultured  nation.  We  are  particularly  struck 
by  the  scantiness  of  the  references  by  the  sacred  Avriters. 
It  will  be  seen,  however,  that  such  as  are  made  are  very 
suggestive.  It  will  not  be  forgotten  that  historical  narra- 
tion among  the  Hebrews  confined  itself  to  leading  inci- 
dents illustrative  of  the  inception  or  progress  of  their 
own  institutions.  What  followed  the  Exodus,  and  what 
immediately  determined  and  accompanied  it,  were  matters 
of  the  first  importance,  and  therefore  received  particular 
attention.  Critical  events  were  elaborated  and  put  in 
the  foreground.  Antecedent  conditions  dropped  out  of 
sight  or  were  taken  for  granted.  We  may  say  a  word  by 
the  way  in  explanation  of  this  reticence.  The  reader  is 
already  familiar  with  the  observation  that  historical  writ- 
ing in  the  modern  sense  was  unknown  to  the  Hebrews 
and  the  Semites  generally  (§  12).  It  would  not  occur  to 
the  chroniclers,  from  whose  writings  the  early  books  of 
the  Old  Testament  are  compiled,  to  go  into  the  question 
of  the  social  and  corporate  condition  of  the  Hebrews 
in  Egypt.     Such  a  procedure  would  have  been  deemed 

1  See,  for  example,  Ps.  xxii.,  xxxvii.,  Ixxiii.,  Ixxvii.,  Ixxx.,  Ixxxv.,  xc, 
cii.,  cvi.,  exxi.,  cxxiv.,  exxv.,  cxxvi.,  cxxx.;  the  book  of  Job;  the  Prophe- 
cies as  a  whole,  especially  Hosea,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  Habakkuk. 


" 


Ch.  Ill,  §  436     SURVIVAL  OF  THE   OPPRESSION 


81 


superfluous  if  it  had  been  thouglit  of,  for  the  contempo- 
raries of  the  writers  did  not  need  enliglitenment  upon 
matters  "wiiich  were  familiar  to  them  from  every-day 
observation.  To  us  the  missing  information  is  of  the 
liighest  importance,  mainly  because  it  helps  to  set  in 
their  true  relations  and  proportions  the  phenomena  of 
the  early  development  of  Israel.  And  it  is  a  matter  for 
devout  thankfulness  that  modern  scholarship  is  wont  to 
call  upon  all  the  historical  sciences  to  supply  the  missing 
lines  and  shading  of  the  picture  left  us  by  the  literary 
artists  of  the  Old  Testament. 

§  -436.  A  few  considerations  will,  I  think,  show  that 
the  Hebrews  while  in  Egypt  were  already  in  possession 
of  all  the  essential  elements  of  a  stable  society.  If  our 
chronologicial  estimate  of  the  patriarchal  period  and  of  the 
time  of  the  Exodus  (§  109;  114;  107)  is  correct,  the 
residence  of  Israel  in  Egypt  must  have  extended  over 
several  hundred  years.  To  have  endured  so  long  it  must 
have  had  inherent  elements  of  permanence  of  a  social 
character,  apart  from  the  virility  of  individual  founders 
or  early  leaders  of  the  race.  The  Bible  narrative  tells  us 
that  it  survived  a  prolonged  term  of  rigorous  slavery, 
whose  severity  was  aggravated  by  special  repressive 
measures.  Now  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  this 
period  of  enslavement  was  a  very  lengthy  one.  Indeed, 
we  know  that  the  attitude  of  the  Egyptians  towards  the 
nomadic  tribes,  Avho  came  from  over  tlie  Isthmus  in  search 
of  food  and  pasturage,  was  normally  hostile  or,  at  least, 
suspicious  and  watchful.  Thus  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances the  Hebrews  could  not  long  have  remained  inde- 
pendent occupants  of  a  territory  closely  bordering  upon 
the  most  thickly  settled  portion  of  the  country,  when  the 
enterprise  of  the  ruling  inhabitants  and  their  hereditary 
feuds  with  the  shepherds  of  the  Desert  made  them  jealous 
of  all  encroachments  of  strangers.  It  is  true  that  during 
a  large  portion  of  the  time  of  the  Hebrew  residence  the 
Hyksos,   their  kindred,   formed  the  controlling  element 


m 


Ml 


i   '1 


I  i 


!    ■       ! 

I       i 

Hi 


82 


disintp:grating  forces 


Book  VII 


ill  the  Egyptian  population.  But  the  toleration  made 
possible  during  their  regime  was  unknown  and,  in  fact, 
impossible  under  their  successors,  who  ruled  Egypt  for 
the  latter  half  of  the  time  of  the  Hebrew  occupation. 

§  437.  Such  were  the  chances  of  extinction  through 
oppression.  If  these  had  been  successfully  overcome, 
through  some  singular  providence,  there  still  lay  behind 
elements  of  danger  more  subtle  and  more  deadly.  I  mean 
the  disintegrating  forces  which  inevitably  threaten  the 
very  existence  of  a  community  living  within  the  juris- 
diction and  influence  of  a  people  superior  both  in  culture 
and  in  material  power.  The  corporate  survival  of  Israel 
in  such  circumstances  is  probably  unique  among  the 
experiences  of  the  tribes  and  nations  of  the  earth.  So 
inherently  improbable  does  the  phenomenon  seem  that  it 
has  been  thought  to  be  actually  impossible.  On  this 
very  ground  it  has  been  alleged  that  the  settlement  of 
Israel  in  Egypt  is  a  fiction.^  The  question  is  so  funda- 
mental to  our  whole  inquiry  that  a  clearer  and  fuller 
statement  is  necessary.  In  seeking  for  light  upon  the 
early  conditions  of  Hebrew  life,  some  illuminating  rays 
may  fall  upon  the  larger  subject  of  their  national  move- 
ments and  fortunes. 

§  438.  The  reader  will  remember  that  what  we  are 
now  concerned  with  is  the  actual  residence  of  the  Hc- 
brcAVS  within  the  territory  of  Egypt  proper.  Preserva- 
tion of  social  identity  for  long  periods  of  time  is  quite 

1  Thus  Winckler  in  his  AUorientalische  Forschungen  (1893),  in  the 
course  of  a  dissertation  on  the  Assyrian  Musru  ("border,  border-land," 
etc.,  also  a  proper  name,  cf.  vol.  i,  409)  claims,  on  the  ground  above  men- 
tioned, tliat  the  Hebrews,  instead  of  being  in  anxc  ("Egypt"),  really  came 
into  Canaan  from  a  district  mentioned  in  the  Assyrian  inscriptions  border- 
ing on  Southern  Palestine,  and  bearing  the  name  just  given.  He  also 
acutely  suggests  that  in  Gen,  xvi.  1,  the  true  translation  is  "  Hagar  the 
Musraite,"  instead  of  "  Hagar  the  Egyptian."  Both  hypotheses  are  im- 
probable. It  must  be  constantly  kept  in  mind  that  until  the  expulsion  of 
the  Hyksos,  the  intercourse  between  Palestine  and  Egypt  for  many  cen- 
turies was  very  close  and  frequent.  Egypt  was  indeed  the  great  ' '  border- 
land" of  the  Semites,  and  hence  its  name  among  that  people. 


I 


Ch.  Ill,  §  439        RELATIONS  WITH  EGYPTIANS 


83 


possible  when  the  tribes  or  clans  live  on  the  borders  of  a 
highly  cultured  nation  or  even  when  considerable  num- 
bers of  them  mingle  freely  with  the  settled  inhabitants. 
Such  was  the  condition  of  the  many  tribes  who,  on  the 
south  and  east  of  Palestine,  maintained  their  name  and 
autonomy  for  long  ages  after  the  Canaan ites  and  their 
Hebrew  successors  had  brought  that  country  to  a  fairly 
high  degree  of  civilization.  ^  Much  more  nearly  parallel 
to  the  case  of  nomads  on  the  borders  of  Egypt  weie  the 
tribes  of  Aramteans  and  Arabs  who  shepherded  and  traded 
on  the  lower  Euphrates  and  Tigris  under  the  shadow  of  a 
much  more  aggressive  type  of  national  culture  than  any 
that  ever  prevailed  in  Palestine  (§  339).  Another  in- 
structive analogy  is  that  of  the  ChakUeans,  who  began 
their  political  existence  in  unknown  early  ages  within 
the  territory  claimed  by  the  opulent  empires  of  Babylonia 
(§  223;  293;  340),  and  ended  by  becoming  proprietor  of 
them  all.  The  picture  given  us  by  the  Bible  writers,  to 
whom  we  owe  all  our  direct  knowledge  of  the  matter, 
represents  Israel  as  within  the  administrative  domain  of 
the  Egyptian  rulers,  and  not  as  being  on  the  outermost 
borders,  whether  on  the  Mediterranean  shore  or  upon  the 
Isthmus. 

§  439.  This  is  the  situation  which  makes  the  survival 
so  remarkable.  If  mutual  tolerance  could  have  been  kept 
up  between  the  immigrants  and  the  dominant  people,  the 
chances  of  the  preservation  of  the  former  would,  of  course, 
be  increased,  though  it  would  seem  that  in  the  course  of 
a  few  generations  the  moral  influences  tending  towards 
absorption  would  have  prevailed.  But  such  an  agreeable 
state  of  affairs  was  out  of  the  question.  We  are  given  to 
understand  that  even  at  the  beginning  of  the  intercourse 
they  were  separated  from  the  body  of  the  Egyptian  people 

1  Those  peoples,  for  example,  with  whom  Gen.  x.  and  xxv.  and  xxxvi. 
as  well  as  the  book  of  Job  and  the  last  two  chapters  of  Proverbs,  have 
made  us  familiar.  Cf .  §  334  for  allusions  to  some  of  them  in  the  Assyrian 
annals. 


ill 


m 


1 1 


84 


OCCASIONS  OF   ENSLAVEMENT 


Book  VII 


1    '!!  ii 


Hi 


because  their  pastoral  occupation  was  held  in  abomination 
by  the  latter.  And  we  may  be  sure  that  while  the  Egyp- 
tian had  a  deep-rooted  antij)athy  for  the  race  of  shepherds, 
the  Hebrew  felt  something  approaching  to  contempt  for 
a  civilization  which  made  a  few  rich  and  the  great  multi- 
tude a  herd  of  slaves.  Nor  did  the  pyramids  and  temples 
and  palaces  of  the  Pharaohs  either  overawe  or  interest  him. 
They  rather  excited  his  aversion  as  evidences  of  impious 
pride  and  folly.  ^ 

§  440.  Finally,  however,  the  Hebrews  found  that  if 
they  were  to  remain  on  Egyptian  soil  they  could  only  do 
so  on  precarious  sufferance.  The  prosperity  of  such  immi- 
grants depended  not  merely  on  the  tolerance  or  favour  of 
the  Egyptian  rulers.  It  was,  also,  in  inverse  ratio  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  Egyptian  state  as  a  whole.  If  the  empire 
languished,  its  rigorous  rule  was  relaxed  in  the  border 
regions :  the  pasture-lands  increased  and  invited  more  and 
more  the  envious  Bedawin.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
nation  prospered,  its  whole  territory  was  utilized  for  its 
sustenance.  The  frontier  was  pushed  further  forward. 
Troops  in  garrison  or  on  the  march  occupied  the  sites  of 
nomadic  encampments  and  held  the  routes  of  caravans. 
Store-cities  were  built  for  them,  for  the  court  officials  and 
the  tax-gatherers,  and  for  the  master-builders  of  public 
works.  Such  was  the  character  of  the  empire  of  the  Nile 
under  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  dynasties.  Eco- 
nomical conditions  were  changed  both  for  the  natives  and 
the  foreigners.  The  multiplication  of  cavalry  in  the 
army  (§  144)  of  itself  materially  affected  the  disposition 
of  the  pasture-grounds.  Further,  the  Egyptian  dominion 
being  extended  far  beyond  the  frontier  into  the  midst  of 
Asia,  the  Hebrew  colonists  found  themselves  in  the  very 
heart  of  an  Egyptian  administration.  Then  came  the  de- 
cisive strain  upon  their  social  and  domestic  institutions. 

1  Cf.  Renan,  Histoire  du  penple  iV Israel,  I,  p.  64  f.,  where,  in  another 
connection,  the  relations  between  nomads  and  settled  populations  are 
ingeniously  discussed ;  also  ih.  p.  137. 


.     I 


Ch.  Ill,  §  441 


EFFECTS  OF  SERVITUDE 


86 


They  must  toil  as  slaves  or  quit  the  countiy.  Tlie  latter 
alternative  was  impossible  during  most  of  the  long  period 
including  the  eighteenth  dynasty  and  the  twentieth. 
Slavery  was  inevitable  and  that  upon  a  large  scale.  But 
slavery  is  a  speedy  destroyer  of  all  social  organization.  It 
has  been  habitually  resorted  to  in  the  East  and  West  alike, 
not  merely  for  the  profit  of  the  slave-holders,  but  witli  the 
wider  purpose  of  breaking  up  the  tribal  or  national  bonds 
of  the  communities  thought  by  a  superior  state  to  be  ag- 
gressive or  in  any  way  dangerous.  It  is  not  here  main- 
tained that  servitude,  at  the  beginning,  was  abhorrent  to 
the  whole  body  of  the  Hebrews.  At  the  time  when  it  was 
being  carried  into  effect  it  may  have  been  welcome  to 
many  of  them,  whose  subsistence  was  vanishing  day  by 
day.  Indeed,  after  the  nomadic  state  was  resumed  the 
precarious  provision  of  the  desert  life  seemed  to  the  liber- 
ated wanderers  a  poor  exchange  for  the  rude  but  reliable 
rations  of  fish  and  onions  supplied  to  them  in  the  days  of 
their  bondage  (Numb.  xi.  5;  cf.  xxi.  5).  It  is  only 
claimed  that  such  an  Oriental  system  of  slave-holding 
was  necessarily  subversive  of  the  sense  of  nationality, 
not  to  speak  of  patriotism,  which  may  have  been  cherished 
by  the  disfranchised  multitudes. 

§  441.  Mark  the  consequences  of  this  policy  among 
the  Hebrews  in  Egypt.  Apparently  their  spirit  was 
almost  completely  broken,  especially  after  the  atrocious 
but  characteristically  Oriental  measures  employed  to 
cripple  and  obliterate  the  obnoxious  aliens  (Ex.  vi.  9). 
The  fact  to  be  appreciated  is  that  they  held  together  at 
all.  That  they  did  hold  together,  that  they  did  not  allow 
themselves  to  become  merged  in  the  nameless  multitudes 
oifellahin  who  have  done  the  servile  work  of  Egypt  under 
all  its  countless  changes  of  dynastic  rule,  must  have  been 
due  to  their  organized  social  condition.  Let  us  see  what 
this  implies.  In  the  first  place,  they  must  have  lived 
in  Egypt  in  no  small  numbers,  occupying  a  consider- 
able extent  of  country.     A  small  isolated  family  or  clan 


r! 


7{li 


r'^ 


'^^"•"^mmmm^m' 


86 


INFERENCES  FROM  THE  SURVIVAL        Book  VII 


It! 

■T    li 
ill    I 


could  not  have  endured  even  for  the  century  which  a 
recent  brilliant  historian  has  assumed  as  the  whole 
length  of  the  Hebrew  occupation  of  Lower  Egypt.  ^ 
Moreover,  their  numbers  must  have  increased  during  the 
tranquil  period  of  their  residence ;  otherwise  they  would 
have  dwindled  away  to  extinction  under  outside  pressure. 
Such  is  the  law  of  growth  and  decay  among  nomadic  and 
semi-nomadic  peoples.  Again,  their  organization  must 
have  become  more  rigid  and  prescriptive  if  not  actually 
more  specialized  and  complex.  The  lapse  of  time  alone 
necessarily  tended  to  fix  the  organic  type.  But  there 
was,  besides,  the  perpetual  struggle  for  existence  with 
newly  arriving  bands  of  immigrants  from  the  Desert,  and 
a  constant  effort  of  self-adjustment  to  the  requirements 
of  a  more  highly  organized  community,  the  potential 
masters  of  the  soil. 

§  442.  Above  and  beneath  all,  they  must  have  observed 
the  system  of  social  and  religious  observances  which  they 
had  brought  with  them  into  Egypt.  This  was  not  simply 
the  unifying  bond  of  the  community ;  it  was,  rather,  its 
vital  principle.  No  essential  change  in  this  was  possible. 
To  imitate  the  utterly  foreign  cult  of  the  Egyptians  was 
an  impossibility  from  any  point  of  view.  It  could  only 
be  done  separately  by  members  of  the  Hebrew  tribes  as 
individuals,  who  would  thereby  immediately  lose  their 
tribal  membership.  The  question  whether  the  Hebrews 
adopted  any  of  the  Egyptian  beliefs  or  rites  is  an  entirely 
different  matter,  which  will  come  up  later.  The  cardinal 
point  is  that  the  central  attributes  of  the  Hebrew  religion 
must  have  remained  intact,  —  above  all,  the  worship  of 
Jehovah,  the  national,  or,  if  you  Avill,  the  tribal  God. 
Consider  well  what  this  means.  It  implies  that  for  hun- 
dreds of  years  the  same  deity  had  been  worshipped  and 
the  same  characteristic  observances  maintained  as  an 
essential  part  of  the  tribal  system.  Otherwise,  I  repeat, 
the  survival  of  Israel  in  Lower  Egypt  was  impossible  and 


1  Renan,  Histoire,  I,  142. 


Ch.  Ill,  §  443     CONNECTION  WITH  THE  PATRIARCHS 


87 


is  to  us  unthinkable.  The  long  and  obscure  interval 
between  the  Patriarchs  and  the  Exodus  is  thus  bridged 
over.  The  Exodus  implies,  or  rather  involves,  the  essen- 
tials of  the  patriarchal  history. 

§  443.  Such  a  conclusion  reaches  far  both  backward 
and  forward.  It  can  be  rejected  only  by  those  who  also 
wholly  reject  the  early  history  of  the  times  preceding  the 
immigration  into  Egypt.  The  one  stands  or  falls  with 
the  other;  the  one  is  the  development  of  the  other;  the 
one  is  implicitly  contained  in  the  other.  If  the  story 
of  the  Hebrews  in  Egypt  is  a  fable,  then  the  narrative  of 
the  simpler  life  of  the  nomad  Hebrews  in  Canaan,  lived 
so  long  before,  is  a  fable  also.  But,  what  is  of  equal 
consequence,  the  converse  is  also  true.  If  the  patriarchal 
history  contains  a  basis  of  truth,  the  Egyptian  history  of 
the  Hebrews,  or  something  closely  corresponding,  must 
also  be  accepted.  As  we  shall  see,  the  Hebrews  were 
no  mere  nomads  when  they  entered  Canaan.  They  had 
already  acquired  the  elements  of  a  settled  government, 
and  these  may  well  have  been  prepared  for  during  a  fixed 
residence,  just  sach  as  they  enjoyed  in  Egypt.  The  argu- 
ment is  broad  and  general,  because  it  has  to  do  with  com- 
prehensive conditions  and  long  periods  of  time.  How 
does  it  comport  with  what  the  book  of  Exodus  has  to  say 
of  the  Hebrews  in  Egypt?  Let  us  look  at  the  several 
points  in  order.  We  have  seen  that  the  people  must 
have  been  numerous,  if  they  were  to  survive  at  all.  On 
this  point  the  Bible  testimony  is  emphatic  enough,  as  it 
also  lays  stress  upon  the  related  fact  of  their  increase. ^ 
That  their  status  and  social  condition  were  necessarily 
affected  by  the  inexorable  pressure  of  the  Egyptian  power 

1  With  regard  to  the  excessively  large  numbers  found  in  the  current 
text  in  the  numeration  of  the  tribes,  I  must  content  myself  with  a  general 
reference  to  note  0  in  the  appendix  to  vol.  i,  and  with  a  reminder  of 
the  admitted  principle  that  numbers  have  a  tendency  to  grow  larger  in 
successive  transcriptions  of  ancient  documents  generally.  Editorial  sys- 
tematizing must  be  held  responsible  for  the  final  results. 


rl 


!| 


.If 


■?!....  '#,..,!.  1" 


.JH.  IWiP 


Sli" 


Tl 


A  PROGRESSIVE  DEVELOPMENT 


Book  VII 


we  have  clearly  seen.  Of  the  processes  as  well  as  the 
consequences  of  the  oppression  we  have  full  details  in 
the  Hebrew  records.  The  necessary  elaboration  ol  the 
tribal  government  is  also  attested.  The  "elders  of  the 
people"  (Ex.  iii.  16,  18;  iv.  29;  xii.  21)  are  not  men- 
tioned at  all  in  Genesis.  They,  and  not  the  heads  of  the 
"father's  houses,"  or  of  the  kins,  are  now  the  recognized 
representatives  of  the  people;  that  is,  of  the  clans  or 
tribes.  Finally',  the  perpetuation  of  the  essential  beliefs 
and  usages  of  the  old  religion  shines  through  the  whole 
narrative.  The  people  were,  it  is  true,  unsettled  and 
discouraged  by  reason  of  the  hard  bondage ;  and  the  mes- 
sengers of  Jehovah  received  an  unfavourable  response 
from  the  mass  of  the  people  to  whom  they  announced  the 
coming  deliverance.  Yet  he  was  still  recognized  as  the 
God  of  Israel ;  and  no  subsequent  act  of  disloyalty  before 
the  entrance  into  Canaan  was  intended  as  a  rejection  of 
his  paramount  claims.  To  this  central  fact  the  whole 
story  bears  evidence,  direct  and  indirect.  Conclusions 
such  as  these,  taken  all  together,  make  the  strongest  of 
arguments  for  the  essential  accuracy  of  the  traditional 
conceptions  of  the  character  and  career  of  Israel  in  the 
earlier  stages  of  its  history. 

§  444.  It  is  a  prevailing  lashion  among  Old  Testa- 
ment critics  to  give  credit  to  the  leading  facts  connected 
with  the  residence  of  Israel  in  Egypt,  and  its  departure 
from  it,  and  to  discard  as  mythical  and  not  merely  tradi- 
tional the  Bible  narratives  containing  the  history  of  the 
patriarchs.  A  modest  suggestion  may  not  be  out  of  place. 
At  least  the  religious  history  is  self-consistent  and  satis- 
factory in  the  telling.  The  cult  of  Jehovah,  with  the 
essential  accompanying  observances,  was  undeniably  a 
distinctive  attribute  of  Israel  before  the  entrance  into 
Canaan.  The  legislation  of  Sinai  could  not  and  did  not 
confer  such  an  endowment,  however  much  it  developed 
and  deepened  it.  It  had  already  been  possessed  and 
cherished  in   Egypt.    But  no  one  will  maintain  that  it 


Cn.  Ill,  §  446  THE   PATIIIARCHAL   STORY 


89 


could  have  had  its  beginnings  in  Egypt  —  a  country  for- 
eign morally  and  intellectually  both  to  Israel  and  to  the 
genius  of  its  religion.  It  must  therefore  have  begun 
earlior  than  the  time  or  times  of  the  settlement  in  Egypt. 
The  Bible  tells  a  story  which  sets  forth  in  broad  outline, 
and  ill  a  concrete  personal  drapery,  the  early  progress  of 
that  religion.  The  worship  of  Jehovah  was  taken  up  and 
fostered  by  men  in  a  simpler  state  of  society  than  even 
that  of  Israel  in  Egypt  before  the  Exodus.  Its  arena  was 
the  land  of  Canaan,  a  region  in  the  olden  times  most 
closely  connected  with  Egypt.  It  was  to  Canaan,  more- 
over, that  the  descendants  of  the  first  votaries  of  the 
religion  returned,  after  the  Exodus,  as  to  an  ancestral 
home.  The  main  difficulty,  I  apprehend,  that  stands  in 
the  way  of  the  acceptance  of  the  cardinal  elements  of  the 
patriarchal  history,  is  this  outstanding  personal,  individu- 
alistic role  assigned  to  the  early  exponents  of  the  relig- 
ion of  Jehovah.  There  seems  to  be  present  perhaps  too 
much  of  that  heroic  type  of  narrative,  such  as  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  associate  with  the  mythical  elements  of  ancient 
literature  generally.  If  we  could  substitute  for  the  persons 
of  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  and  their  kindred,  the  names  of 
clans,  or  even  of  families,  much  of  the  difficulty  would 
probably  vanish. 

§  445.  It  will  be  granted,  I  think,  that  the  sacred 
narrative  fills  a  necessary  place.  The  framework  of  the 
social  fabric  of  Israel  in  early  days  is  not  complete  with- 
out some  such  foundation  as  that  supplied  by  the  condi- 
tions of  the  Bible  story.  But  are  we  not  at  liberty  to 
give  a  larger  interpretation  to  the  patriarchal  narratives 
which  will  furnish  a  just  and  sufficient  theory  of  the  his- 
tory of  Israel  and  its  religion  in  pie-Mosaic  times  ?  There 
is  much  that  should  commend  such  an  interpretation  to 
the  sober  judgment  of  a  critical  age.  Abraham  and  his 
descendants  in  the  time  of  historical  influence  were  of 
course  only  the  heads  of  the  leading  families  in  their 
respective  clans.    They  were  men  of  force  of  character, 


eo 


ENVIRONMENT  OF  THE  PATRIARCHS       Book  VII 


and  some  of  them  according  to  the  record  were  men  of 
religious  faith.  But  devout  and  heroic  men  were  a  pre- 
requisite to  the  rise  and  progress  of  Israel,  if  there  was 
to  be  a  race  and  religion  of  Israel  at  all,  —  a  race  and 
religion  with  the  promise  and  potency  of  the  moral  trans- 
formation of  the  world.  Such  men  are  necessarily  out- 
standing representatives  of  their  class. 

§  446.  Add  to  this  the  consideration  (cf.  §  435)  that 
Hebrew  narrative  is  eclectic  and  partial.  It  makes  up  by 
the  brilliancy  of  its  colouring  and  the  vividness  of  its 
portraiture  for  the  absence  of  grouping,  shading,  and  per- 
spective. An  epoch  is  characterized  by  one  or  two  inci- 
dents ;  a  race  or  order  of  men  by  one  or  two  instances ;  a 
rule  of  life  by  one  or  two  examples ;  a  national  struggle 
or  political  or  social  revolution  by  one  or  two  episodes. 
Its  style  and  manner  are  naturally  most  strikingly  exem- 
plified in  the  treatment  of  those  stages  of  the  national  life 
which  are  commemorated  more  by  tradition  than  by  docu- 
mentary records.  The  concrete  and  the  personal  are  the 
more  appreciated,  the  more  the  historical  background  has 
become  indistinct  and  shadowy.  Hence  the  figures  of  the 
ancient  heroes  of  the  race  fill  up  more  and  more  the  ever- 
narrowing  avenues  of  the  retrospect.  It  is  not  an  undis- 
ciplined fancy,  but  a  just  historic  imagination,  which 
discerns  behind  and  about  these  gigantic  forms  a  living 
and  moving  social  environment  which  was  as  indispensable 
to  them  as  they  were  to  it.  With  this  interpretation  of 
the  patriarchal  narratives  we  find  that  the  early  history 
of  Israel  is  a  consistent  unity,  harmonizing  with  sociolog- 
ical and  historical  principles.  At  the  same  time,  it  serves 
as  the  necessary  foundation  of  the  succeeding  national 
development. 

§  447.  On  the  other  hand,  we  must  not  depreciate  the 
personal  significance  of  the  patriarchs.  While  they  were 
the  children  of  their  time,  of  their  race,  of  their  circum- 
stances and  physical  surroundings,  yet  as  founders  and 
pioneers  they  were  separated  from  them  and  stood  apart. 


Cii.  Ill,  §  448  DKVELOrMENT  OF  CLANS 


01 


This  is,  after  all,  the  real  meaning  of  their  exceptional 
career.  One  family,  conscious  of  its  great  destiny  and 
inspired  by  faith  and  trust  in  Jehovah,  refused  to  be  held 
by  its  tribal  associations,  and  formed  a  new  social  begin- 
ning for  itself.  The  movement  was  promoted  decisively 
when  Jacob  and  his  sons  quitted  their  old-time  pasture- 
grounds,  cut  loose  from  their  environment,  and  pitched 
their  tents  in  Egypt.  Here  a  fresh  start  was  made  unfet- 
tered by  the  social  bonds  and  entanglements  inseparable 
from  their  residence  in  Canaan, ^  A  change  of  condition 
was  mainly  what  made  this  event  critical.  But  such  a 
change  was  potentially  significant  enough  to  create  a 
new  era. 

§  448.  The  distinction  between  Israel  in  Canaan  in  the 
olden  time  and  Israel  in  Egypt  was  mainly  this.  In 
Canaan  in  the  patriarchal  stage  a  process  of  selection 
went  on  continually.  In  other  words,  the  family  was  of 
more  importance  than  the  clan,  in  spite  of  the  operation 
of  the  social  usages  of  the  country  and  its  peoples.  In 
Egypt,  where  the  clan  began  its  separate  career  untram- 
melled, the  individual  family  lost  its  relative  importance 
and  became  subordinate  to  the  clan.  Families  and  kins 
were  speedily  differentiated  and  retained  their  several 
names  and  badges.  But  the  community  was  all  the  while 
developing  with  them  and  giving  them  countenance,  unity, 
and  dignity.  Through  change  of  place  and  occupation,  and 
through  family  alliances,  the  original  clan  was  divided, 
and  Israel  soon  came  to  be  constituted  of  several  clans  or 
tribes.  These  were  varied  indefinitely  a.s  to  actual  descent 
by  intermarriage,  and  yet,  according  to  the  rule  of  paternal 

1  Oi  such  influences  an  instructive  instance  is  funiished  in  Gen.  xxxiv. 
We  learn  from  tliis  account,  liow  the  family  of  Israel  mast  have  been  en- 
larged from  neighbouring  aliens  who  adopted  the  naturalizing  rite.  "  Jacob  " 
was  then  plainly  a  clan  as  well  as  a  family  head,  and  a.s  such  was  tran.s- 
f erred  to  a  new  home  and  arena  in  the  grazing  land.s  of  Ei.'jpt.  Of  affilia- 
tion with  Canaanites,  an  example  is  furnished  in  Gen.  xxxviii.  1  f.  Nor 
must  we  overlook  the  statement  of  Gen.  xiv.  14,  which  put^i  Abraham  at 
the  head  of  a  powerful  clan. 


f 


m 


92 


THE   MOSAIC   EPOCH 


Book  VII 


and  filial  right  (§  428),  the  autonomy  of  the  original  fami- 
lies was  preserved  in  the  male  line,  so  that  the  lieads  of 
the  families  who  came  down  to  Egypt  gave  their  names 
perpetually  to  the  several  divisions.  But  these  divisions 
were  no  longer  social  units  as  families  or  even  kins,  but 
closely  associated  political  units,  each  with  its  own  council 
of  eldei-s,  its  own  local  sanctuary,  and  its  own  priesthood. 
•Nothing  more,  I  may  observe,  is  here  assumed  than  what 
is  necessary  to  explain  the  growth  and  conservation  of  the 
Hebrew  community. 

§  449.  We  are  now  at  length  in  some  degree  prepared 
to  deal  with  the  condition  of  Israel  at  the  critical  era  of  the 
Exodus.  A  new  stage  is  now  .about  to  be  entered  upon. 
The  nation,  if  we  may  so  call  it,  is  coming  under  the 
influence  of  that  majestic  personality,  that  supereminent 
genius,  that  "man  of  God,"  with  whom  but  few  of  the 
sons  of  men  have  vied  in  intellectual  and  moral  grandeur. 
We  may  therefore  well  call  this  new  age  of  Israel  the 
Mosaic  age.  It  is  apparently  the  common  belief  that 
Moses  made  of  Israel  a  nation  out  of  a  herd  of  slaves.^ 
This  opinion  is  erroneous,  at  least  in  the  vague  and  un- 
discriminating  form  in  which  it  is  usually  held.  That 
Hebrew  society  as  a  whole  greatly  deteriorated  during 
the  later  stages  of  the  Egyptian  residence  is  certain ;  but 
no  less  certain  is  it,  as  we  have  seen  above,  that  large 
sections  of  it  retained  their  tribal  organization  with  their 
distinctive  social  and  religious  culture.^    These  furnished 

1  Such  a  view,  equivalent  to  the  belief  in  a  certain  sort  of  magical  power 
on  the  part  of  the  great  legislator,  is  set  forth  and  expounded  by  Dr.  A. 
M.  Fairbairu,  The  City  of  God,  2  ed.  (1880),  p.  110  ff.  Wellhausen,  also, 
in  consequence  of  depreciating  the  pre-Mosaic  career  of  Israel,  was  at  one 
time  obliged  to  exaggerate  the  political  effect  of  the  part  played  by  Moses. 
See  Skizzen  viul  Vorarbeiten  (1884),  I,  p.  9  f.  In  his  latest  work,  how- 
ever, his  depreciation  of  the  religious  influence  of  Moses  has  apparently 
led  him  to  detract  from  the  importance  of  his  political  achievements. 
See  IJG.  p.  .30. 

2  Miriam  and  her  song,  whose  essential  originality  it  is  vain  to  dispute 
(see  Driver,  Introduction,  p.  27),  are  perhaps  the  best  concrete  evidence 
of  the  condition  of  the  leading  class  in  Israel  before  the  Exodus.    A 


Cii.  Ill,  §  450     THE   WORK  OF  MOSES  FOR  ISRAEL 


0:3 


I 


a  lallying-point  and  nucleus  for  such  of  the  members  of 
the  community  as  had  been  scattered  through  the  exigen- 
cies of  poverty  and  servitude,  and  yet  had  not  strayed  far 
from  the  tents  of  Israel.  The  work  of  Moses  was  mainly 
regenerative  and  disciplinary.  It  was  constructive,  to  be 
sure  ;  but  it  was  constructive  largely  because  it  was  recon- 
structive. The  evolution  of  Hebrew  society,  which  was 
slowly  accomplished  under  the  impulse  of  his  presiding 
mind,  was  marvellous  and  unique.  But  it  was  after  all  an 
evolution,  not  a  creation.  It  was  moreover  only  made 
possible  by  his  becoming  himself  a  factor  in  the  process, 
standing  within  and  not  without  the  sphere  of  operation. 
What  Moses  aimed  to  do  for  the  Hebrew  people  was  to 
energize  them,  to  organize  and  unify  them.  This  he 
in  some  measure  accomplished  directly  for  his  own 
generation. 

§  450.  But  most  of  the  unexampled  influence  of  Moses 
was  exerted  indirectly  and  upon  subsequent  ages.  It  will 
be  seen  that  but  little  of  the  legislation  with  which  he  is 
credited  was  intended  for  the  tribes  during  their  nomadic 
life.  He  in  fact  did  not  at  firat  expect  that  the  wilderness 
would  long  detain  them.  The  revelations  of  Sinai  were 
made  for  a  people  already  in  fixed  abodes ;  and  the  law- 
giver hoped  that  but  a  few  months  would  intervene  before 
the  occupation  of  Canaan  would  begin.  In  truth,  but  little 
in  the  way  of  special  new  legislation  was  needed  by  Israel 
in  the  Desert.  And  this  of  itself  is  strong  negative  evi- 
dence for  the  view  that  no  serious  outward  disturbance 
had  taken  place  in  the  social  relations  of  the  refugees  in 
Egypt.  What  was  chiefly  needed  of  permanent  value  was 
personal  self-reliance  and  courage,  and  persuasion  of  the 

society  which  could  furnish  the  antecedents  of  this  episode,  -which  pro- 
duced tlie  poet,  the  singer,  and  the  class  to  which  they  belonged,  can 
hardly  be  called  degraded.  We  must  beware  of  thinking  of  such  cases  as 
isolated.  Culture  was  no  more  sporadic  or  self-evolved  in  Old  Testament 
times,  or  lands,  or  peoples,  than  it  is  in  our  own  times  and  among  con- 
temporary nations. 


hi 


m 


'1 

am 


H 


MEANS  TO  SECURE  UNITY 


Book  VII 


reality  and  significance  of  the  warrant  of  Jehovah  for 
re-entering  the  ancestral  domain.  It  was  thought  at  first 
that  a  few  months  of  desert  life  would  harden  their  temper 
and  prepare  them  for  the  risks  and  stress  of  military 
service.  Hence  they  were  led  not  by  the  way  of  the 
riiilistines,  northeastward,  but  southward  through  the 
peninsula  of  Sinai.  Finally,  when  it  came  to  the  question 
of  an  actual  irruption  into  Canaan,  they  were  found  to  be 
still  unready.  Steadfastness,  more  than  courage  in  the 
field,  was  required  for  the  perilous  enteri^rise.  The  re- 
newal of  the  whole  vital  force  of  the  people  was  found  to 
be  necessary.  Their  late  habitual  environment  demanded 
its  due.  Nothing  could  be  done  hastily  or  suddenly.  A 
whole  people  cannot  be  remade  in  a  day  or  a  year.  Their 
spirit  had  been  crushed  by  wholesale  subjection  to  the 
rulers  of  the  land,  and  they  recoiled  from  the  dangers 
which  the  freer  and  more  independent  desert  inhabitants 
were  accustomed  to  face.  A  new  generation  had  to  grow 
up  inured  to  the  perils  of  a  life  in  the  wilderness. 

§  451.  Upon  this  new  generation  Moses  impressed 
something  of  his  own  energy  and  faith.  To  speak  of 
Moses  making  a  "nation"  of  this  people,  in  the  strict  sense 
of  the  term,  is  inaccurate,  because  a  nation  could  not  be 
made  in  the  Desert  (§  46).  He  could,  however,  and  he 
did,  infuse  into  the  people  a  new  spirit  of  confident  self- 
reliance,  or  more  properly  reliance  upon  Jehovah.  He 
thus  could  and  did  make  real  and  active  within  them  the 
old  beliefs  which  had  not  yet  been  fully  learnt  before,  and 
which  indeed  could  never  be  fully  learnt  except  through 
practical  experience  of  their  validity.  Their  great  inward 
need  was  unity  of  sentiment  and  purpose.  Their  chief 
outward  disability  was  the  lack  of  corporate  unit3^  Pro- 
found and  far-reaching  were  the  means  employed  to  secure 
both.  The  former  was  achieved  by  means  of  a  common 
ritual ;  the  latter  through  an  improved  administration. 
We  have  seen  .above  that  in  Egypt  each  of  the  clans  had 
its  own  priesthood  and  local  sanctuary  (§  448).     This  in 


1  •'    i 


i 


Cm.  Ill,  §452     RITUAL  AM)  CIVIL  tiOVKKNMENT  W 

nowise  contlicted  with  the  general  adherence  to  the  cult  of 
Jehovah.  It  only  meant  that  in  the  rudimentary  state  of 
society  the  family  groups  which  made  up  the  clan  were 
held  together  by  their  participation  in  common  religious 
observances  (§  397;  402  f.).  And  of  whatever  simple 
rites  the  worship  consisted,  they  were  necessarily  restricted 
in  practise  to  the  manageable  circle  of  the  clan  and  its 
dependents.  The  great  triumph  of  Moses  in  the  religious 
sphere  was  to  make  the  ritual  a  matter  of  united  observ- 
ance. That  is  to  say,  he  instituted  a  single  priesthood  and 
a  common  sanctuary  for  all  the  tribes.  It  was  only  in 
accordance  with  the  fitness  of  things  that  his  own  tribe 
should  be  charged  with  the  priestly  functions,  and  that  his 
own  brother  should  become  the  chief  of  the  priests.  For 
purposes  of  government  this  meant  that  the  general  civil 
administration  and  the  religious  should  be  closely  allied. 
§  4o2.  The  other  movement  contemplated  a  redistri- 
bution and  concentration  of  the  governing  power.  This 
matter  of  internal  government  requires  a  somewhat  close 
examination.  It  has  been  mentioned  (§  36)  that  the 
sheich  of  a  nomadic  tribe  does  not  exercise  absolute 
authority,  nor  even  exercise  primary  jurisdiction.  He  is 
the  arbiter,  the  leader  in  war,  the  judge  on  final  appeal. 
Otherwise  he  is  simply  primus  inter  pares,  and  the  pre- 
siding member  of  the  council  of  elders.  An  association 
of  several  tribes  or  larger  clans  introduced  no  essential 
change  in  the  constitution  of  this  elementary  democracy. 
The  choice  of  a  leader  in  war  or  in  important  negotiations 
was  the  only  distinction  conferred  upon  any  one  such 
chief  above  the  rest.  Moses,  however,  was  confronted 
with  an  altogether  exceptional  governmental  problem. 
He  had  to  deal  with  a  people  whose  normal  social  de- 
velopment had  been  rudely  interrupted.  As  a  result, 
very  unequal  degrees  of  social  order  were  manifested 
among  the  several  sections  of  the  community.  Tribal 
discipline  and  coherence  had  l)ecome  suspended  among 
large  masses  of  the  people,  even  where  the  bonds  of  the 


w^mmt^mrmm^. 


mm 


■M 


El! 


i*'i 


i 


ifi 


i  ' 


ii 

Si   I 


96 


THE   "MIXED   MULTITUDE 


Book  VII 


family  or  the  kin  had  not  been  severed.  The  restoration 
of  the  body  politic  to  order  and  right  relations  was  ren- 
dered peculiarly  difficult  by  the  dislocations  and  inner 
disturbances  due  to  the  peregrinations  of  the  whole  com- 
munity. We  realize  better  the  chances  of  increasing 
confusion  and  disorder  when  we  remember  that 'the  tent 
was  the  family  rendezvous,  and  that  during  the  critical 
early  months  of  the  desert  life  the  encampment  was  shifted 
continually. 

§  4.53.  A  disturbing  element  of  great  ultimate  influ- 
ence on  the  expansion  of  Israel  was  the  so-called  "  mixed 
multitude."  Such  an  appendage  to  the  camp  was  an 
inevitable  accompaniment  of  any  considerable  desert  com- 
munity. It  had  the  expectation  and  desire  of  becoming 
formally  incorporated  into  the  organized  body  to  which  it 
attached  itself  (§  550).  We  are  not  to  regard  it  as  an 
undisciplined  horde.  Nor  was  it  a  miscellaneous  con- 
glomeration of  nondescript  outlaws  and  refugees.  On  the 
contrary,  it  certainly  represented  in  large  measure  small 
independent  communities,  remnants  of  tribes  that  were 
perhaps  once  powerful,  but  were  now  in  danger  of  extinc- 
tion from  the  vicissitudes  of  the  desert.  They  had  become 
clients  or  wards  of  Israel,  receiving  protection  and  render- 
ing service  in  return,  besides  acknowledging  Jehovah. 

§  454.  The  consolidation  of  such  a  badly  assorted  gath- 
ering, constantly  on  the  move  and  much  larger  than  an 
ordinary  desert  community,  would  have  been  quite  out 
of  the  range  of  possibility  if  it  were  not  for  certain 
favouring  conditions.  One  of  these  was  the  impetus  that 
had  been  given  to  a  common  national  sentiment  by  the 
successful  passage  of  an  arm  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  the 
signal  overwhelming  defeat  of  the  Egyptian  pursuers 
under  the  auspices  of  the  accredited  messenger  and 
prophet  of  Jehovah.  Food  and  water  granted  to  Israel 
from  the  same  potent  source  seemed  to  guarantee  even 
to  the  parasitic  retinue,  as  well  as  to  Israel  proper,  the 
chief  desiderata  of   desert  life.     Again,  the  necessity  of 


' 


Cii.  Ill,  §  455 


ADMINISTRATIVE   liEFOIJM 


9T 


i 


i^ 


defence  against  predatory  tribes  or  rivals  for  the  possession 
of  oases  promoted  that  military  spirit  which  is  the  strong- 
est external  cohesive  principle  of  nomadic  life.  And  suc- 
cess in  conflicts  with  foes  like  the  Amalekites  created  an 
enthusiasm  which  promoted  greatly,  while  it  lasted,  the 
growing  sentiment  of  comradeship  and  unity.  Men  who 
before  had  been  disheartened  and  aimless  now  felt  them- 
selves bound  together  in  the  satisfying  of  a  common  desire 
and  the  putting  forth  of  united  efforts.  Gratitude,  depend- 
ence, confidence,  and  trust  bound  them  at  the  same  time 
to  Moses  their  leader,  and  to  Jehovah  their  God.  As  far 
as  sentiment  was  concerned,  as  distinct  from  permanent 
qualities  and  virtues,  everything  was  propitious  for  a 
beginning  in  popular  government. 

§  45.').  How  greatly  this  was  needed  is  clear  from  the 
fact  that,  although  under  the  new  conditions  men  of  the 
various  tribes  were  continually  brought  into  contact  with 
one  another,  there  were  no  common  courts  of  justice  or 
arbitration,  to  which  resort  could  be  had  for  the  ratifying 
of  any  agreement  or  the  adjustment  of  any  dispute  outside 
the  limits  of  the  single  tribal  division.  Hence  Moses  him- 
self was  constantly  in  demand  as  a  judge,  referee,  and 
counsellor.  The  first  decisive  step  was  taken  towards 
making  a  nation  of  Israel  in  a  very  few  weeks  after  the 
crossing  of  the  Red  Sea.  The  time  was  propitious.  A 
certain  real  preparation  had  been  made  among  the  people 
by  the  partial  experience  they  had  had  of  settled  life  in 
Egypt  (cf.  §  441  f.),  as  well  as  by  their  observation  of  the 
workings  of  Egyptian  jurisprudence.  The  essential  matter 
in  the  new  system  was  that  the  administrative  function 
should  be  divided  and  in  a  certain  degree  delegated. 
Moses,  from  being  a  great  tribal  chief  over  other  chiefs, 
should  become  the  head  of  a  commonwealth.  The  revolu- 
tion was  started  by  the  introduction  of  a  principle  which 
ran  quite  across  that  of  the  tribal  organization.  In  the 
latter  there  was  the  council  of  elders  for  general  purposes 
of  admuiistration.     Also  within  each  clan  the  heads  of  the 


!l 


w 


'\' 


A 


♦ 


'.''  I 


-    -M 


|i 


I 


LOCAL  REPRESENTATION 


Book  VII 


kins  or  family  groups  settled  minor  affairs  and  controver- 
sies. Their  warrant  was  their  personal  authority ;  and 
this  rested  on  seniority  or  on  a  consent  of  the  kinsmen, 
determined  informally  by  obvious  marks  of  fitness  in  those 
chosen  to  stand  in  the  front.  In  any  case,  the  choice  came 
from  below  and  not  from  above.  The  system  now  initiated 
was  radically  diverse.  Instead  of  recognizing  the  sacred 
divisions  of  the  tribe  or  the  clan,  or  even  those  of  the  kin 
or  the  household,  the  principle  of  local  relation  was  intro- 
duced. Groups,  larger  and  smaller,  were  made  according 
to  residence  or  vicinage.  Hence  the  basis  of  division  was 
to  be  made  numerical.  Over  the  several  sections  rulers 
were  appointed  by  Moses.  "  And  Moses  chose  men  of 
worth  out  of  all  Israel,  and  set  them  as  heads  over  the 
people :  rulers  ^  of  thousands,  rulers  of  hundreds,  rulers  of 
fifties,  and  rulers  of  tens.  And  they  used  to  judge  the 
people  regularly ;  the  difficult  cases  they  brought  to 
Moses,  but  the  minor  cases  they  adjudicated  themselves 
(Ex.  xviii.  25  f.).  At  the  same  time  these  rulers  were 
in  a  certain  sense  representative,  "nee,  according  to  the 
reminiscence  in  Deuteronomy  (i.  13),  the  people  were 
invited  by  Moses  to  co-operate  in  selecting  them.  More- 
over, the  two  systems  were  made  to  fit  into  one  another, 
since  the  first  choice  at  least  was  made  from  those  who 
were  already  at  the  head  of  the  tribal  divisions  (Deut.  i. 
15;  cf.  xvi.  18). 

§  456.  This  memorable  institution  presents  some  feat- 
ures of  great  interest.  The  first  thing  to  be  noticed  is 
that  it  was  introduced  before  the  arrival  of  Israel  at  Sinai ; 
that  is  to  say,  it  was  preliminary  to  the  specific  ordinances 
which  were  to  regulate  the  concerns  of  civic  and  religious 
life  among  the  people  of  Jehovah  as  a  nation.  In  other 
words,  it  was  prerequisite  to  a  settled  mode  of  living  gen- 
erally. Observe,  further,  that  it  was  understood  to  be 
strictly  of  human  devising.  The  same  claim  is  not  put 
forward  for  it  that  appears  regularly  in  behalf  of  the  sev- 

1  The  word  is  usually  equivalent  to  "  prince." 


Ch.  m,  §  457     THE  REFORM  NOT  A  "  REVELATION  " 


90 


i 

i 


I 


eral  portions  of  the  Sinaitic  legislation.  The  latter  were 
obtained  directly  in  personal  interviews  with  Jehovah  upon 
his  sacred  seat.  The  former  is  expressly  ascribed  to  a  sug- 
gestion from  the  father-in-law  of  Moses.  Jethro  was,  to 
be  sure,  a  priest,  and,  as  such,  might  seem  authorized  to 
deliver  these  counsels  as  an  oracle  from  Jeliovah,  espe- 
cially as  he  had  presided,  on  the  day  preceding,  at  a  sacri- 
fice to  the  God  of  Israel,  whose  supreme  sovereignty  he 
rejoiced  to  acknowledge  (Ex.  xviii.  10  £E.).  But  his  act 
as  a  counsellor  of  Moses  is,  by  the  narrator,  entirely  dis- 
associated from  his  function  as  a  priest,  and  it  would, 
naturally,  be  only  in  the  character  of  their  official  repre- 
sentative that  he  would  have  presumed  to  declare  the 
divine  will  to  the  people  of  Israel. 

§  457.  The  distinction  just  pointed  out  is  one  of  wide 
range  and  deep  significance.  It  is  only  specific  statutes 
and  decisions  that  are  ascribed  by  the  sacred  writers  di- 
rectly to  Jehovah.  Political  and  social  forms  and  institu- 
tions are  either  expressly  or  implicitly  treated  as  popular 
movements.  It  was  so  with  the  later  government  by 
''judges,"  and  with  the  still  later  monarchical  system. 
Nor  was  it  otherwise  after  the  Captivity.  The  matter 
is  worthy  of  fuller  discussion.  It  can  only  be  pointed  out 
here  that  the  distinction  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  the 
whole  spirit  of  Revelation,  and  with  the  Biblical  concep- 
tion of  the  relation  of  the  Deity  to  humanity.  Human 
society  is  evolved  out  of  primitive  human  relations.  It  is 
a  product  of  practical  skill,  of  adaptation,  and  contrivance, 
the  slowly  attained  result  of  endless  compromises  and 
makeshifts.  No  social  institution  is  of  direct  divine  ap- 
pointment. The  matter  of  Revelation  is  the  unfolding  and 
illustration  of  principles  within  the  sphere  of  morals,  of 
conscience,  of  conduct.  The  divine  will  is  declared  for 
the  enlightenment  and  guidance  of  men  within  the  social 
and  political  relations  in  which  they  stand,  and  which  are 
in  themselves,  as  mere  institutions,  without  moral  signifi- 
cance.   The  "law,"  or,  rather,  the  teaching  of  Jehovah,  is 


;■' ) 


m 


1| 

if* 


r 


I '. 


r 

I 


^^mmm 


^p^ 


^1 


100 


NEED  OF  A  COHESIVE  PRINCIPLE 


Book  VII 


a  revelation  of  the  righteousness  and  justice  ^  which  are 
the  foundation  of  his  throne  (Ps.  Ixxxix.  14;  xcvii.  2). 
As  a  body  of  "precepts,"  "statutes,"  "commandments," 
"judgments,"  it  is  a  record  of  the  actual  decisions  of 
Jehovah  revealed  through  his  representatives  the  Proph- 
ets. It  is,  of  course,  not  confined  to  the  Pentateuch, 
though  that  portion  of  the  Old  Testament  contains  a 
systematized  compilation  of  those  announcements  which 
have  to  do  with  the  regulation  of  the  ordinary  affairs  of 
life.  The  distinction,  then,  is  clear  that  human  society, 
as  represented  in  Israel,  is  taken  for  granted  as  it  stands. 
Its  ultimate  constitution  and  its  established  relations  are 
not  interfered  with.  But  the  duties  which  grow  out  of 
these  relations  are  defined  and  insisted  upon.  Men  are 
not  held  responsible  for  conditions  which  they  find  ready 
to  hand,  but  for  specific  acts  of  their  own  free  choice. 

§  458.  Some  radical  change  in  the  organization  of  the 
tribes  was  imperatively  demanded  for  other  reasons  than 
those  assigned  by  the  priest  of  Midian  (Ex.  xviii.  14,  18). 
Even  if  the  clansmen  were  merely  to  be  held  together 
until  they  should  reach  the  borders  of  Canaan,  some  more 
cohesive  principle  than  the  prescriptive  tribal  government 
had  to  be  adopted.  And  this  numerical  division  and  or- 
ganization of  the  people  according  to  local  groupings,  in 
place  of  tribal  associations,  marked  the  first  necessary 
stage  of  preparation  for  the  higher  and  permanent  type  of 
civic   administration.      For   military   purposes   alone    an 

1  These  are  the  two  key-words  of  the  Old  Testament  moral  revelation. 
The  former  (pnx)  is  the  guiding  subjective  principle  of  right,  whether  in 
God  or  man.  The  latter  (Dciyn)  is  its  outward  expression,  its  practical 
efficiency.  Since  it  varies  indefinitely  with  the  relations  and  conditions 
of  its  application  in  human  affairs,  the  term  itself  must  be  rendered  and 
interpreted  variously.  It  should  not  always  be  translated  "judgment," 
as  is  usuJiUy  done  in  the  modern  versions.  This  is  only  proper  when  it 
means  a  decision  or  adjudication.  The  original  meaning  is  levelling; 
thence  comes  the  sense  of  adjusting,  regulating,  deciding.  The  judicial 
usage  predominates,  since  .lehovah  is  the  decider,  the  adjuster,  the  judge, 
in  human  affairs.  As  the  name  of  right  conduct  it  answers,  as  an  abstract, 
to  "justice." 


Ch.  Ill,  §  459     THE  NEW  PRINCIPLE  GERMINAL 


101 


advance  was  indispensable.  It  was  impossible  that  any- 
general  leader  could  permanently  command  the  services  or 
the  ^^yalty  of  the  warriors  if  these  were  at  the  absolute 
disposal  of  the  clan  leaders  or  the  family  councils.  They 
must  be  habituated  to  consider  themselves  as  parts  of  a 
greater  whole,  as  owing  allegiance  to  the  community  and 
its  leader,  and  bound  to  stand  together,  not  merely  as 
kinsmen  or  clansmen,  but  as  members  of  a  larger  brother- 
hood. Again,  the  rights  of  property  must  be  conserved  as 
between  man  and  man,  and  not  merely  as  between  a  man 
and  his  tribe  or  sept.^  Finally,  the  initiative  in  legal 
processes  must  be  taken  by  some  representatives  of  the 
people  rather  than  by  the  family  or  clan  alone.  The  new 
principle  could  not  secure  these  ends  directly,  but  it  was 
the  best  means  of  showing  the  inadequacy  and  unfitness 
of  the  old  bonds  of  union,  and  it  pointed  the  way  to  some 
higher  and  better  state  of  society  that  should  provide  secu- 
rity, confidence,  and  repose  to  the  vexed  and  harassed 
wanderers. 

§  459.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  however,  that  the  new 
type  of  administration  was  at  once  made  fully  operative. 
Such  a  process,  like  other  social  change,  must  be  one  of 
natural  and  gradual  adjustment.  We  are  to  understand 
that,  in  this  episode  of  the  journey  between  Rephidim  and 
Sinai,  the  beginnings  of  a  new  order  of  things  were  made, 
and  that  these  were  improved  upon  continually  according 
to  a  well-defined  aim  and  upon  a  fixed  principle.  I  may 
again  remind  the  reader  of  the  distinguishing  mark  of 
Hebrew  narrative  (cf .  §  435  ;  446),  —  how  it  summarizes 
events,  indicates  great  movements  and  epochs  by  single 
examples,  puts  a  part  for  the  whole  and  the  whole  for  a 


m 


it 


1  dne  of  the  most  grievous  evils  of  the  tribal  system  was  that  any  one 
accused  before  his  tribesmen  would  be  acquitted  or  condemned  by  the 
judgment  of  his  kinsfolk  alone.  Inasmuch,  also,  as  levenge  for  injuries, 
real  or  supposed,  was  left  to  the  kin,  or  ultimately  to  the  clan  or  tribe, 
magisterial  government  would  be  desirable  so  as  to  mitigate  the  severity 
of  vengeance,  as  well  as  to  punish  the  olfender. 


111 


102 


RETENTION  OF  OLD  rillNCIPLES 


Book  VII 


f'l 


if 


lif  ■     >  . 


i".  -i 


part,  foreshortens  its  historical  pictures.  In  this  instance, 
the  end  is  given  with  the  beginning,  because  the  beginning 
implied  and  virtually  involved  the  end. 

§  460.  Finally,  we  must  conclude,  in  the  same  way,  that 
the  old  system  of  organization  was  not  suddenly  repealed. 
We  know,  indeed,  that  it  was  in  force  much  later,  even 
after  the  settlement  in  Canaan  had  been  accomplished 
(e.^.  Jud.  vi.  34).  The  two  principles  were  allowed  to 
work  side  by  side  ;  that  which  was  inherently  the  stronger 
and  more  serviceable  gradually  superseded  the  other.  Nat- 
urally, the  patriarchal  was  perpetuated  during  long  ages 
for  the  adjustment  of  family  relations.  Indeed,  as  we  have 
seen  (§  455),  the  first  officials  under  the  new  system  were 
selected  from  the  heads  of  the  tribes  and  families.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  do  not  need  to  assume  that  the  numeri- 
cal division  was  strictly  adhered  to.  "  Thousands,  hun- 
dreds, fifties,  and  tens"  were,  we  may  suppose,  in  most 
cases,  approximations.  The  very  term  for  "  thousand  "  is 
one  of  the  names  for  a  clan  or  sept  (§  396).  This,  of 
itself,  may  suggest  to  us  the  propriety  of  not  insisting 
rigorously  on  the  literal  accuracy  of  Old  Testament  sum- 
marizing numbers. 

§  461.  The  principle  observed  was  to  have  justice  ad- 
ministered within  manageable  divisions  of  contiguous 
groups,  large  and  small.  Details  are  wanting.  We  see 
here  only  the  germ  and  first  expression  of  public  senti- 
ment, the  political  initiation  of  the  people  of  Israel.  Here- 
after something  was  felt  to  be  standing  between  the 
unregulated  freedom  of  the  clansman  and  the  rough  jus- 
tice or  matter  of  course  protection  of  his  kinsman  or  his 
tribe  (see  Deut.  xvi.  18  f. ;  xvii.  8  ff.;  xxv.  1  ff.).  There 
was  a  public  tribunal  where  there  was  some  chance  of  each 
case  being  decided  wholly  on  its  merits.  This  may  seem 
to  have  been  a  slight  step  in  advance.  But  it  is  the  first 
step  that  counts,  and  the  movement  taken  here  was  a  practi- 
cal one.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  justice  in  the  abstract. 
The  kingdom  of   righteousness  would  never  have   been 


Ch.  Ill,  §  462     RELIGIOUS  BASIS  OF  THE  WHOLE 


103 


established  if  rude  men  at  the  threshhold  of  civilized  his- 
tory had  not  been  taught  justice  and  self-control  from  the 
discipline  of  their  fellows  more  advanced  than  themselves. 
From  this  point  of  view  the  system  suggested  by  Jethro  is 
seen  to  be  a  comprehensive  type  of  the  social  and  political 
development  of  Israel.^  But  it  is  more  than  this.  It  is 
a  symbol  also  of  the  triumph  and  reign  of  law  and  order 
among  men,  which  has  furnished  the  outward  conditions  of 
the  progress  of  righteousness  and  justice.  Thus  it  seems, 
after  all,  to  have  been  ultimately  not  less  a  divine  institu- 
tion than  the  legislation  on  Sinai. 

§  462.  But  we  are  expressly  notified  that  the  human 
and  the  divine  actually  co-operated  in  this  first  political 
experiment  of  the  Hebrew  commonwealth.  The  people 
in  resorting  to  Moses  came  to  him  "  to  inquire  of  God," 
and  Moses,  in  "  judging  between  a  man  and  his  neighbour, 
made  them  know  the  statutes  of  God  and  his  laws  "  (Ex. 
xviii.  15  f.).  As  we  have  seen  (§  457),  Jehovah  was  the 
fountain  of  all  practical  justice,  and  both  seers  and  priests 
in  dispensing  justice  and  pronouncing  judgment,  did  so  in 
his  name,  and  after  inquiring  of  his  will.  This  funda- 
mental aspect  of  the  relation  of  the  people  of  Israel  to 
their  God  overshadows  all  others.  It  is  in  fact  the  basis 
of  the  Old  Testament  religion.  When  we  think  of  the 
mission  and  work  of  the  Prophets  in  Israel,  we  can  only 
complete  the  retrospect  by  going  back  to  these  primary  dis- 
closures among  the  tents  of  the  Desert.  We  are  at  pres- 
ent, however,  concerned  more  particularly  with  the  social 
and  political  aspects  of  the  public  administration  in  Israel. 
And  immediately  after  the  record  of  the  new  organization, 
we  find  the  people  at  Sinai  receiving  a  complete  system  of 
instruction  as  to  the  details  of  life  and  conduct.  The 
combination  is  now  seen  to  be  natural.     The  one  in  fact 

1  Hence  it  is  not  surprising  to  meet  tlie  statement  that  sliortly  after  the 
camp  breaks  up  again,  Moses  finds  it  necessary  to  liave  the  assistance  of 
a  council  of  "seventy  elders"  (Numb.  xi.  16  ff.).  Evidently  the  organi- 
zation was  tentative  and  rudimentary. 


>! 


11  : 


^ 


104 


LOOKING  TO  THE   FUTURE 


Book  VII 


i; 


"11 : 


<  ; 


i 


ii 


I  ^'1. 


■it 


',■:• 


'i 


i    1 


m 


implies  and  requires  the  other.  Indeed,  in  the  summariz- 
ing review  the  political  episode  is  regarded  as  falling 
within  the  epoch  of  Sinai  (Deut.  i.  6,  9  ff.).  Its  value  as 
part  of  the  record  consists  mainly,  one  would  think,  in  the 
relation  between  it  and  the  disclosures  made  on  the  holy 
mount.  The  meaning  of  this  association  obviously  is  that 
the  precepts  of  Sinai  and  its  administrative  provisions 
generally  were  designed  for  the  stage  of  society  which  was 
to  be  reached  by  virtue  of  the  new  civil  constitution. 

§  463.  A  comprehensive  glance  at  the  enactments  illus- 
trates clearly  the  foregoing  observation.  The  new  type 
of  internal  government  went  bej-ond  the  usages  and  re- 
quirements of  nomads.  It  could  only  be,  as  it  actually 
was,  brought  into  complete  operation  under  the  conditions 
of  settled  life.  Just  so  was  it  with  the  regulations  of 
Sinai.  Beyond  its  few  general  moral  and  religious  pre- 
cepts, everything  applies  to  the  subsequent  life  of  Israel 
in  Canaan.i  Scarcely  anything  is  either  specifically  or 
implicitly  adapted  to  the  experiences  of  the  wilderness. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  demonstrate  this  assertion.  The  same 
thing  is  to  be  said  of  the  prescriptions  in  Deuteronomy. 
Just  as  the  directions  of  the  ritual  imply  a  fixed  place  of 
worship,  so  the  regulations  for  civil  life  imply  a  fixed 
abode  for  the  people.  The  whole  system  is  framed  for  a 
people  living  in  towns  and  villages,  and  engaged  normally 
in  tilling  the  soil.  And,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  not  only  do 
many  of  the  statutes  expressly  contemplate  a  residence  in 
a  country  populous  and  productive,  but  the  people  are  con- 
tinually reminded  of  the  necessity  of  observing  them  in 
the  land  to  which  they  were  being  conducted.  This  is, 
therefore,  the  Biblical  as  well  as  the  sociological  view  of 
the  matter. 

§  464.  There  is  little  more  to  be  learnt  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Hebrew  community  from  the   narrative   of 

1  Even,  as  it  would  seem,  the  Decalogue.  See  Ex.  xx.  10,  "the 
stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates  "  (i.e.  cities),  and  v.  12.  Cf.  note  to 
§474. 


|t|! 


Ch.  Ill,  §  404     THE  APPLICATION  COMES  LATER 


105 


the  wanderings  in  the  Desert.^  We  can  only  resume  the 
inquiry  at  the  point  where  the  life  of  the  nation  can  he 
considered  to  be  fairly  begun  in  its  permanent  home.  We 
may  then,  and  not  till  then,  practically  apply  tlie  prescrip- 
tion of  the  Law  to  the  problems  of  the  public  and  private 
life  of  Israel. 


The  details  of  the  census  and  muster-roll  have  only  a  mechanical 
basis  and  do  not  rest  on  any  social  or  political  movement.  The  tribal 
principle,  moreover,  is  there  still  the  governing  one. 


i'. 


1:1; 


1  i 


i  :i<' 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  SETTLEMENT   IN   CANAAN 


il'. ' 


I  •■  a , 


§  465.  Political  and  social  transitions  are  hard  to  under- 
stand and  describe.  Contemporaries  usually  fail  to  realize 
them  because  of  the  slowness  of  the  processes.  Or  they 
fail  to  apprehend  and  estimate  the  causes  on  account  of 
the  multiplicity  of  the  phenomena  and  the  apparent  com- 
plexity of  their  interaction.  Later  ages  are  at  a  loss 
because  of  lack  of  information,  or  perhaps  still  more  fre- 
quently from  the  absence  of  intellectual  and  moral  sympa- 
thy. The  transition  in  Israel  from  the  nomadic  stage  to 
the  usages  and  achievements  of  settled  life  in  Canaan  is 
one  of  the  most  misunderstood  passages  of  ancient  history. 
General  observations  are  first  in  order,  because  misappre- 
hensions as  to  the  general  conditions  are  widely  prevalent. 
First  of  all,  it  behooves  us  to  guard  against  the  common 
error  that  the  transition  was  brief  and  rapid.  The  very 
opposite  is  the  truth.  Rather  may  it  be  almost  aflfirmed 
that  the  transition  stage  was  prolonged  indefinitely.  Cer- 
tainly some  sections  of  the  population  never  fully  emerged 
from  the  nomadic  state.  I  do  not  now  refer  to  the  minor 
traces  of  tribalism  in  the  permanent  beliefs  and  social 
prejudices  of  the  people.  These  were  almost  ineradicable, 
and  they  were  only  slowly  extruded  by  the  force  of  pro- 
phetic universalism  (§  399).  Actual  dwellers  in  tents, 
forming  distinct  communities,  were  found  up  to  the  very 
close  of  the  monarchy,  after  a  residence  within  Israel 
from  the  very  beginning  of  the  settlement  (Jer.  xxxv.  6  ff ; 
cf.  §  416).     Larger  or  smaller  communities  of  shepherds 

100 


Cii.  IV,  §  400 


SUUVIVAL  OF   NOMADISM 


107 


to 


ael 

ff; 
L'ds 


were  scattered  over  extensive  districts,  not  merely  east  of 
the  Jordan,  where  they  formed  the  prevailing  type,  but 
in  Canaan  proper  as  well,  particularly  in  the  territory  of 
Judah.  Even  when  these  aggregations  clustered  about 
fixed  centres,  the  manners  and  traditions  of  the  nomad 
still  prevailed.  The  difticulty  of  abrogating  the  essential 
tribal  law  of  blood-revenge  was  anticipated  in  the  funda- 
mental legislation  (Ex.  xxi.  13).  The  practice  continued 
to  prevail  in  the  near  neighbourhood  of  Jerusalem  in 
the  earlier  days  of  the  kingdom  (2  Sam.  xiv.  7).  The 
conmion  speech  of  the  people  bears  testimony  to  the  per- 
manence of  the  ancient  social  institutions.  "  To  your 
tents,  O  Israel ! "  ^  was  the  watchword  of  insurrection  in 
times  long  after  the  encampment  had  been  abandoned  as 
the  centre  of  national  life  (1  K.  xii.  16;  of.  2  Sam.  xx.  1). 
In  the  days  of  Ilezekiah  (Isa.  xxxiii.  20;  701  ii.c),  and 
even  at  the  close  of  the  Exile  (Isa.  liv.  2;  cf.  Jer.  x.  20), 
the  tent  is  still  the  symbol  of  the  community.  It  is  only 
in  New  Testament  times  that  it  becomes  the  symbol  of  an 
individual  life  (2  Cor.  v.  1 ;  2  Pet.  i.  13  f.). 

§  466.  The  importance  of  the  tenacity  of  the  nomadic 
spirit,  along  with  the  persistence  of  the  nomadic  habit,  is 
not  easily  overestimated.  Its  suggestions  for  our  imme- 
diate purpose  are  obvious.  But  its  significance  is  not 
exhausted  by  its  influence  on  the  historical  development 
of  later  Israel.  The  perpetual  survivals,  gaunt  and  rugged 
or  kindly  and  gentle,  of  the  genius  of  tribalism — in  social 
usage,  in  religious  belief,  in  the  administration  of  justice, 
in  the  lingering  reminiscences  of  word  and  phrase  —  testify 
eloquently  and  convincingly  to  a  long  antecedent  history 
of  the  Hebrew  community  separate  from  the  nations 
(Numb,  xxiii.  9).  This  is  a  monument,  variously  in- 
scribed, that  speaks  trumpet-tongued  where  so  many 
other  voices  are  silent.  The  assumption  that  the  Hebrews 
had  but  a  brief  corporate  existence  before  they  ajjpeared 

1  A  phrase  implying  a  return  to  the  primary  independence  of  nomadic 
life,  and  a  renouncing  of  allegiance  to  a  centralizing  monarch. 


/ 


m\ 


■i. :  Bi'i 


r 


I ,- 


II 


h , 


Jil 


108 


THE   MOXAUCIIY   A    DIVIDING    I'OIXT        Book  VII 


on  the  borders  of  Canaan  ean  be  shown  from  tliese  memo- 
rials, if  by  nothing  else,  to  be  a  baseless  figment. 

§  407.  A  clear  distinction  must,  howevei-,  be  made 
between  the  condition  of  the  population  as  a  whole  and 
that  of  the  less  numerous  and  influential  portion  of  the 
community  which  retained  to  the  end  a  preference  for  the 
institutions  land  manners  of  the  wilderness.  This  latter 
element  it  is  not  necessary  to  take  particularly  into  account 
for  the  study  of  Hebrew  society,  except  as  affording  illus- 
tration of  primitive  habits.  With  regard  to  the  historic 
Israel,  we  may  mark  as  a  clear  dividing  point,  in  social  as 
■well  as  in  political  progress,  the  era  of  the  establishment  of 
monarchy.  Before  this  epoch,  the  condition  of  Israel  in 
Palestine  may  be  characterized  as  hc mi-nomadic.  This  crisis, 
strictly  speaking,  marks  the  limit  of  the  above  indicated 
period  of  transition.  The  tendencies  and  movements  that 
made  for  consolidation  and  complexity  of  social  structure 
multiplied  rapidly  as  soon  as  a  central  authority  was 
established.  And,  as  we  have  seen  (§  50 ;  cf .  188  ff.),  a 
wide  extension  of  power  was  not  attained  by  any  of  the 
leaders  of  Israel  till  the  founding  of  the  kingdom. 

§  468.  Centralization  was,  in  fact,  impossible  without 
the  monarchy.  There  is  probably  no  instance  on  record 
of  a  voluntary  confederation  of  tribes,  except  where  the 
society  has  remained  essentially  of  the  nomadic  type. 
When  nomads  come  to  exchange  the  desert  for  the  planta- 
tions or  bazars  or  factories  of  iixed  settlements,  they  break 
up  into  separate  communities,  and  are  united,  if  at  all, 
only  by  force.  This  general  fact  throws  light  upon  the 
original  settlement  of  Palestine  by  the  Canaanites,  who 
are  found  to  have  had  the  kingly  government  only  in 
petty  city-states  (§  36  f.).  The  nomadic  origin  of  these 
communities  is  thus  apparent  ajiart  from  general  pre- 
sumptive evidence.  What  would  have  become  of  the 
Hebrew  people  if  the  monarchy  had  not  been  instituted 
is  perhaps  problematical.  But  their  fate  would  in  all 
likelihood  have  been  that  of  their  predecessors.     As  agri- 


Cii.  IV,  §  JO!)         DATA   F(»U   THE   SKTTLEMKNT 


109 


culturists,  tradespeople,  aiicl  artisans,  their  continuance 
under  this  senii-noniadic  type  of  society  was  out  of  the 
question.  The  period  of  intertribal  strife  and  anarchy, 
of  which  the  closing  chapters  of  the  book  of  Judges  give 
so  mournful  an  account,  would  have  been  prolonged  until 
in  sheer  weariness  the  distracted  tribesmen  had  gathered 
around  their  respective  local  centimes  of  population  and 
chosen  for  themselves  leaders  and  ''judges"  independent 
of  former  associations.  The  enterprise  of  Abimelech 
(Jud.  ix.)  would  have  been  repeated  with  greater  suc- 
cess than  his  in  many  cities,  and  numerous  petty  king- 
doms would  ha.ve  replaced  the  ideal  of  a  united  Israel. 
It  was  the  unifying  bond  of  a  common  allegiance  to 
Jehovah,  and  the  perpetual  sense  of  common  danger,  that 
mainly  kept  the  tribes  together.  But  even  these  would 
not  have  much  longer  sufficed.  How  clear  a  proof  is 
afforded  by  even  the  precarious  coherence  of  the  frag- 
ments of  Israel  that  the  time  of  the  Judges  d''d  not  extend 
over  many  generations !  To  have  survived  a  century  and 
a  half  of  abnormal  distracting  and  exhausting  social  vicis- 
situdes is  itself  an  evidence  of  unequalled  racial  and 
national  vitality. 

§  409.  But  we  are  anticipating  some  of  the  results 
of  a  more  special  examination.  What  are  our  data  for 
determining  the  character  of  the  Hebrew  community  and 
its  gradual  development  during  this  period  of  transition  ? 
It  is  fortunate  that  while  no  direct  delineation  of  the 
manners  and  usages  of  the  time  has  been  left  us,  we  still 
have  a  twofold  illustration  of  the  subject  which  leaves 
nothing  to  be  desired  for  pictorial  and  clarifying  effect. 
We  have  on  the  one  hand  the  incidental  notices  of  the 
historical  books,  especially  of  Judges  and  Samuel ;  on  the 
other,  we  have  the  laws  and  kindred  prescriptions,  which 
were  framed  for  the  guidance  of  the  people  during  the 
early  years  of  the  settlement.  The  one  enlightens  us 
from  without;  the  other  illumines  the  subject  from  witlun. 
As  to  the  complementary  matter  of  the  growth  of  the 


:W 


Hii 


im 


m 


no 


ISRAEL  ON   ENTERING  CANAAN 


Book  VII 


\ 


•I 


i    ■, 


community,  our  main  recourse  will  be  to  trace  the  neces- 
sary workings  of  the  institutions  of  Israel  within  the 
shifting  boundary  lines  of  the  families,  the  clans,  the  tribes, 
and  the  nation. 

§  470.  We  naturally  first  inquire  into  the  social  and 
political  status  of  the  Hebrews  at  the  time  when  they 
entered  Canaan.  If  our  conclusions  already  drawn  are 
at  all  well  founded,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  making  at 
least  a  general  answer  to  the  question.  What  we  were 
able  to  gather  as  to  their  condition  in  Egypt  indicated 
that  they  were  something  more  than  ordinary  bands  of 
desert  rovers.  We  found  strong  presumptive  evidence 
of  solidarity,  of  a  grade  of  culture  much  advanced  beyond 
barbarism,  of  such  an  increase  in  numbers  as  would  justify 
their  hope  of  becoming  a  nation  (§  436  ff.).  Their  sub- 
sequent life  in  the  wilderness  more  than  confirms  the 
supposition.  Their  great  need  was  a  better  organization 
and  the  inspiration  of  a  national  feeling.  At  least  the 
beginnings  were  made  in  the  way  of  discipline  and  of 
political  education  (§  454  ff.).  They  became  habituated 
under  the  direction  and  training  of  Moses  to  a  wider 
outlook  than  the  bounds  of  the  family  or  the  tribe,  to  a 
richer  hope  than  the  mere  expectation  of  daily  bread. 
Just  as  their  survival  of  the  long  opj)ression  in  Egypt 
testifies  to  their  inherent  vitality  and  their  numerical 
strength,  so  their  triumph  over  the  dangers  and  disin- 
tegrating forces  of  their  long  desert  Avanderings  avouches 
their  increasing  fitness  to  cope  with  more  destructive  and 
more  insidious  foes  than  Pharaoh  and  his  taskmasters. 

§  471.  But  it  would  be  a  cardinal  error  to  confine  this 
advance  to  a  mere  augmentation  of  military  power  or  of 
external  resources  generally.  What  was  vital  and  potential 
in  their  development  was  the  awakening  and  nourishing 
of  a  spirit  of  heroic  endeavour,  an  assurance  of  a  larger 
national  destiny  than  the  occupation  and  retention  of  the 
most  eligible  oasis  of  northern  Arabia.  Without  such  an 
inspiration,  the  possession  of  a  permanent  home  in  Canaan 


i 


Cii.  IV,  §  172 


PATRIOTISM   AND   RELIGION 


111 


ler 
a 


Ins 

of 

;ial 


he 
an 
an 


would  have  been  to  them  an  impossibility.  Now  that  we 
see  how  they  were  animated  by  such  a  spirit,  we  perceive 
also  that  the  feeling  must  have  been  widespread  and 
general ;  that  it  was,  so  to  speak,  a  corporate  conviction. 
What  it  really  had  for  its  vitalizing  and  nourishing  prin- 
ciple was  a  common  faith  in  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel. 
Rude  and  immature  as  this  faith  must  have  been,  it  was 
yet  deeply  rooted.  And  —  what  we  are  specially  to  mark 
—  it  was  a  national  feeling.  It  drew  its  energizing  force 
from  motives  broader  and  deeper  than  the  interests  or  the 
ambitions  of  the  family  or  the  kin  or  the  clan.  Cherislied 
as  it  was  by  individuals,  it  was  not  cherished  primarily  as 
a  merely  personal  sentiment.  Such  a  thing  was  simply 
unimaginable  in  ancient  Oriental  society,  where  the  single 
individual  life  was  an  anomaly  and  a  religious  as  well  as 
social  disability.  The  family  group,  the  clan,  or  the 
tribe  was  the  horizon  of  the  world  into  which  the  early 
Hebrew  was  born.  And  if  his  thought  and  imagination 
ranged  beyond  the  widest  of  these  limits,  it  could  only 
be  because  he  had  already  become  virtually  a  citizen  of  a 
state,  a  compont  it  element  of  a  nation.  Such  an  assump- 
tion, I  repeat,  is  demanded  for  Israel  at  the  time  of  the 
occupation  of  Canaan,  and  in  virtue  of  the  very  fact  of 
that  occupation. 

§  472.  We  are  justified  in  proceeding  a  step  further. 
When  we  recognize  accomplished  facts  universally  ad- 
mitted, we  must  be  prepared  to  accept  all  the  necessary 
antecedents.  The  conquest  of  Canaan  by  the  Hebrews, 
while  it  supports  the  Biblical  presuppositions  as  to  their 
political  and  social  status,  confirms  also  the  Biblical  state- 
ments as  to  the  successive  stages  and  the  method  of  the 
occupation.  The  general  course  of  the  conquest,  as  we 
gather  it  from  the  accounts  given  in  Numbers  and  Joshua, 
is  to  the  following  effect.  The  Hebrews  at  first  made  an 
attempt  upon  the  southern  border  of  Palestine,  and,  hav- 
ing failed  in  this,  they,  after  a  icngthy  period  of  prepara- 
tion, moved  upon  Canaan  from  the  eastern  side.    Territory 


I 


J,(.  s 


1 


\  ,  ! 


I    ' 


11       ■ 


f    ^ 


! 


112 


THE  BIBLE   ACCOUNT  REASONABLE 


Book  VH 


to  the  east  of  the  Jordan  was  taken  from  a  formidable 
remnant  of  the  Amorites  in  Gilead  and  Bashan,  and  in 
this  region  the  tribes  of  Reuben  and  Gad  and  a  portion 
of  Manasseh  received  their  possessions.  Canaan  proper 
was  entered  at  Jericho.  From  this  point  of  vantage  the 
subjection  of  the  country  was  gradually  effected.  The 
correctness  of  this  view  of  the  matter  was  taken  for 
granted  in  the  historical  summary  given  in  our  first  vol- 
ume (§  183  ff.).  The  reasonableness  of  the  scheme  has 
commended  it  to  general  acceptance  by  critics  and  his- 
torians. Even  those  who  reject  all  the  details  of  the 
sacred  narrative  admit  at  least  that  the  entrance  was 
made  from  the  eastern  side,  and  that  the  territory  of 
Reuben  and  Gad  was  occupied  and  cultivated  by  Hebrews 
before  Western  Palestine  was  entered  by  them. 

§  473.  Added  assurance  may  be  gained  from  a  few 
brief  considerations.  (1)  Canaan  proper  at  the  time  of 
the  Exodus  could  not  have  been  entered  successfully  from 
the  south  except  by  an  invading  force  vastly  superior  in 
war  to  anything  which  the  Hebrews  could  muster.  The 
natural  defences  on  the  south  and  west  of  the  hill  country, 
and.  the  barriers  in  the  way  of  marching  have  always  prac- 
tically decided  this  question.  (2)  The  phenomenon  of 
the  conquest  of  Canaan  by  the  Hebrews  can  only  be 
explained  on  the  assumption  that  the  decisive  movement 
was  made  by  a  wholesale,  systematic,  simultaneous  inva- 
sion ^  by  all  the  Hebrew  clans  together.  The  Canaanites 
were  no  doubt  divided  by  their  political  genius  and  their 
long  habit  of  segregation  in  their  walled  cities.     But  any 

1  Stade,  GVL  p.  IIG  ff.,  132  ff.,  while  denying  on  critical  grounds 
the  whole  story  of  the  military  operations  of  Israel  east  of  the  Jordan, 
tries  to  show  how  the  Hebrews  became  an  agricultural  people  in  that 
region,  cand  then,  through  an  increase  of  the  population  beyond  tlie 
nourishing  capacity  of  the  country,  migrated  by  detachments  into  Western 
Palestine.  Wellhausen,  the  leader  of  his  school,  shows  more  historical 
insight  (see  Skizsen,  etc.,  p.  7  and  14  ;  and  I.TG.  p.  14  f.).  Stade's  theory 
of  the  occupation  is  fully  disproved  by  G.  A,  Smith,  HG.  p.  659  ff. ; 
of.  274  ff. 


I    I 


■i 

t 


Cii.  IV,  §  474  THE  AGRICULTURAL  STAGE 


113 


considerable  section  of  them  was  still  strong  enough  to 
beat  back  a  divided  Israel,  in  spite  of  their  losses  through 
former  invasions  (§  166  f.).  (3)  The  Biblical  story  of  the 
Exodus,  the  attempt  on  Southern  Palestine,  the  desert 
marching,  the  attack  from  the  east,  the  line  of  invasion, 
and  the  method  of  the  conquest,  is  the  only  account  that 
has  come  down  to  us  of  a  unique  event  otherwise  inexpli- 
cable. But,  what  is  of  equal  importance,  the  main  con- 
verging lines  of  the  tradition  harmonize  with  one  another, 
and  the  essential  elements  of  the  whole  representation 
are  mutually  consistent.  If  Israel's  survival  of  the  long 
Egyptian  residence,  the  Exodus,  the  leadership  of  a  great 
commander  and  organizer,  the  occupation  of  Canaan  itself, 
are  indisputable  matters  of  history,  then  all  of  the  material 
facts  tliat  set  forth  the  successive  stages  in  the  action  are 
not  only  natural,  but  we  may  even  say  necessary. 

§  474.  We  may  now  pass  on  to  a  consideration  of  the 
process  of  settlement  and  of  the  ways  in  wliich  the  new 
settlers  grew  and  changed  in  their  permanent  home.  A 
glance  at  the  code  of  laws  contained  in  Ex.  xx.-xxiii.,  com- 
monly called  the  "Book  of  the  Covenant,"  reveals  the 
fact  that  it  was  intended  for  a  people  who  had  advanced 
beyond,  but  not  very  far  beyond,  the  pastoral  stage.  Cities 
are  never  once  alluded  to  directly,^  and  there  is  not  a 
single  statute  which  necessarily  has  to  do  with  conditions 
of  life  in  walled  towns.  On  the  other  hand,  most  of  the 
enactments  refer  expressly  to  agricultural  conditions,  and 
most  of  the  remainder  imply  them.  The  direct  explana- 
tion of  the  phenomenon  is  obvious.  The  Hebrews  for  a 
long  while  after  the  general  invasion  did  not  inhabit 
cities,  at  least  not  in  large  bodies.     Of  those  which  they 

1  In  the  fourth  conunanclinent  of  the  Decalogue  (Ex.  xx.  10),  the 
phrase  "  tliy  client  (f/er)  that  is  within  thy  gates  "  is  quite  excei)tinnal  and 
is  supposed  by  some  to  be  of  Deuteronomio  origin.  Notice  that  in  the 
passage  (Ex.  xxi.  13)  referring  to  an  asyliun  for  the  innocent  nianslayer, 
the  word  "place"  is  used,  and  not  the  term  "city"  of  refuge,  which  i.s 
the  form  used  in  Deuteronomy  and  the  priestly  code. 


1,  ., 

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t  ■■  ■    , 

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■i  *  "I 

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114 


LIFE   IN  CITIES  CAME   LATER 


Hook  VII 


early  succeeded  in  conquering,  they  occupied  at  first  but 
few.  One  reason,  therefore,  is  connected  with  the  usage 
and  policy  of  victorious  invaders  generally.  As  a  rule, 
an  alternative  was  struck  between  two  entirely  different 
kinds  of  treatment.  When  an  eneni}'  was  rebellious,  ex- 
cessively turbulent,  and  permanently  dangerous,  his  cities 
would  be  destroyed.  But  the  ordinary  principle  was  to 
put  the  peoples  holding  the  cities  under  tribute.  By  this 
means  they  became  a  source  of  profit  to  the  new  occupants 
of  the  land,  who  also  had  in  view  their  ultimate  amalga- 
mation, and  the  consequent  strengthening  of  the  dominant 
people.  After  a  conquest  was  effected  in  any  district,  it 
was  not  so  difficult  as  might  be  supposed  to  keep  the 
Canaanites  tributary,  since  (§  37 ;  cf.  §  35)  they  were  ac- 
customed to  live  in  small,  isolated  communities.  Thus 
they  were  in  many  instances  allowed  to  continue  their  old 
manner  of  life,  though  the  towns  themselves  were  invested 
by  a  sufficient  garrison  (2  Sam.  viii.  6,  14)  ^  to  keep  order 
and  prevent  conspiracy  or  revolt. 

8  475.  Affain,  the  Hebrews  did  not  as  a  rule  live  in 
the  conquered  cities  during  the  earlier  stages  of  the 
settlement,  because  they  were  not  at  all  adapted  or 
inclined  to  such  a  life.  There  were  among  them  few  of 
the  commercial  or  industrial  class.  What  they  preferred 
to  do  was  to  occupy  plantations  and  estates,  once  the 
property  of  the  people  of  the  land,  and  have  them  worked 
by  their  slaves,  most  of  whom  were  naturally  subjugated 
Canaanites,  Vineyards,  olive  yards,  barle}'  and  wheat 
fields,  were  found  ready  at  hand.  For  the  cattle  which 
they  brought  with  them  pasture  was  available  ;  nor  was  it 
necessary  to  turn  many  of  them  to  agricultural  uses,  since 
the  oxen  and  the  asses  and  the  sheep  of  their  serfs  became 
their  property  along  with  the  former  owners.  The  promi- 
nence of  these  animals  as  valuable  possessions  in  the  earli- 
est legislation  is  very  noticeable.     Equally  remarkable  is 

1  As  was  doue  by  the  Philistiues  among  the  Hebrews  themselves,  1  Sam. 
xiv.  Iff. 


Cii.  IV,  §  476     CATTLE,  TILLAGE,  AND  JUSTICE 


115 


i 


the  absence  of  all  mention  of  the  horse  and  the  camel.  Not 
that  these  animals  were  not  familiar  to  the  residents  of 
Canaan.  The  camel  was  an  indispensable  means  of  com- 
munication with  tlie  desert  and  the  lands  beyond.  The 
horse  was,  to  be  sure,  not  used  by  the  Hebrews  in  agri- 
culture in  the  earlier  times, ^  nor  yet  for  riding,  probably 
not  even  for  war.  Yet  we  cannot  suppose  it  to  have 
been  entirely  discarded  in  Canaan,  where  it  had  been  in 
vogue  for  military  purposes  since  the  Egyptian  times. 
The  point  to  be  noticed  is  that  all  other  animals  than  the 
ox,  the  ass,  and  the  sheep  Avere  irrelevant  to  the  juris- 
prudence of  a  society  which  was  so  purely  agricultural. 
Other  indications  of  the  sphere  of  application  of  this  body 
of  laws  are  the  statutes  relating  to  the  protection  (xxii.  5  f.) 
and  cultivation  (xxiii.  10  ff.)  of  fields  and  vineyards,  to  the 
law  of  the  first-fruits,  and  to  that  of  the  three  great  feasts. 
But,  indeed,  surviving  features  of  the  pastoral  life  so 
slowly  abandoned  are  everywhere  apparent.  Cattle  are 
not  only  of  practical  service ;  they  constitute,  also,  the 
chief  capital  or  chattels.  Justice  is  to  be  carried  on 
according  to  the  elementary  principles  of  retaliation  and 
compensation.  "  Pers&nal  injuries  fall  under  the  law  of 
retaliation,  just  as  murder  does.  The  principle  of  retalia- 
tion is  conceived  as  legitimate  vengeance  (xxi.  20,  21, 
manjin').  Except  in  this  form  there  is  no  punishment, 
but  only  compensation."  ^ 

§  476.  Enough  has  been  said  to  indicate  at  least  the 
general  condition  of  the  people  for  many  decades  after 
the  settlement.  Broadly  speaking,  this  semi-pastoral, 
semi-agricultural  type  of  society  prevailed  throughout 
the  period  of  the  Judges.  It  was  inevitable  that  it 
should  be  so.  Not  one  generation  or  two  could  convert 
a   race   of  cattle-tenders  into   tradesmen,  or  dwellers   in 

1  Isa.  xxviii.  28,  however,  refers  to  long-established  usages.  It  has 
been  suspected  that  the  reading  is  wrong,  because  the  tenn  used  is  the 
one  employed  for  chariot-horses. 

•■!  W.  R.  Smith,  UTJC.  1st  ed.  p.  ;j;}(5 ;  cf.  2d  ed.  p.  340  f. 


I 


1 

t 

•■H 

[\n 


116 


THE  "JUDGES"  SHOW  LITTLE  CHANGE     Book  VII 


tents  into  builders  of  cities.  The  whole  atmosphere  of 
the  contemporary  records  is  redolent  of  the  life  of  shep- 
herds and  husbandmen.  The  song  of  Deborah  and  the 
book  of  Ruth  represent  the  same  social  conditions  all 
the  more  vividly  from  their  poetic  and  idyllic  character. 
The  leading  men  up  to  the  new  era  under  David  were 
men  of  the  country  or  inhabitants  of  villages.  David 
himself  was  the  last  of  that  renowned  order  of  nobility. 
It  is  the  land-holder  with  his  retinue  of  "  servants  "  who 
is  the  representative  man  in  this  democracy,  the  man  of 
force  and  worth. ^  How  different  it  became  under  the 
rule  of  the  Kings,  when  this  same  land-owner,  the  first 
among  his  equals,  became  a  peer  in  the  new  order  of 
I)'  bility  !  He  speedily  developed  into  the  grasping,  oppres- 
'  i-nd-grabber,  having  his  residence  in  the  city,  reduc- 
ing the  small  peasant  proprietor  to  serfdom,  and  by  this 
inversion  of  the  natural  order  of  things  in  Israel  subvert- 
ing i:lie  iCLU'dations  of  the  state. 

§  47T.  <?iearness  of  conception  on  these  points  is  essen- 
tial. No  sudden  revolution  was  accomplished  in  the  man- 
ners and  habits  of  Israel  by  their  change  of  residence. 
To  adapt  a  figure  of  Victor  Hugo,^  the  curve  of  the  tran- 
sition was  never  so  much  increased  as  that  progress  was 
thereby  checked.  The  most  outstanding  fact  has  been 
already  referred  to  (§  474),  but  it  needs  further  eluci- 
dation. Life  in  large  and  powerful  cities  was  almost 
unknown  to  the  Hebrews  till  the  kingly  era,  though  the 
necessity  of  gathering-places  and  walled  towns  early  made 

1  The  Hebrew  word  for  wealth  C^'n)  is  the  same  as  that  for  capacity 
and  moral  worth.  Hence  the  two  notions  are  often  combined  in  descrip- 
tions of  men  or  types  of  character.  It  is  noticeable  that  the  magistrates 
who  were  to  be  appointed  according  to  Ex.  xviii.  (§  465)  were  to  be  men 
of  this  double  qualification  (v.  21,  25).  A  man  proved  his  worth  by  his 
possessions  (cf.  .Job).  It  was  only  in  the  later  times  of  clianged  social 
conditions  that  poverty  and  affliction  were  esteemed  as  compatible  with 
moral  excellence.  This  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  connection  with  the 
relative  ages  of  several  compositions  of  disputed  date  (cf.  §  605). 

'^  Les  Miserables,  Part  IV,  Boole  I,  ch.  ii. 


\       ii 


Cii.  IV,  §  478       GROWTH  AND   USE   OF  TOWNS 


117 


itself  felt  (§  483  f.,  501).  This  appears  plainly  enough 
from  the  historical  notices.  We  are  familiar  with  Shiloh, 
Bethel,  Gilgal,  Ramah,  Gibeah.  These  are  among  the 
places  mentioned  in  Judges  and  Samuel  as  the  scenes 
of  activity  or  centres  of  influences.  They  are  all  at  best 
insignificant  towns.  They  were  defended  by  walls  and 
gates,  as  a  matter  of  course,  but  they  were  not  the  his- 
torical fortresses  known  to  us  from  the  annals  of  Thoth- 
mes  III  (§  145),  the  El  Amarna  tablets  (§  152),  the 
monuments  of  Ramses  II  (§  163),  or  even  those  detailed 
in  the  lists  of  Joshua  and  Judges.  Those  cities  that  were 
overcome  by  the  Hebrews  in  the  combined  onslaught  of 
the  first  stage  of  the  invasion  we  must  assume  to  have 
been  only  slowly  rebuilt.  With  those  that  remained, 
intermittent  war  of  the  guerilla  sort  was  waged,  with 
the  result  that  many  of  them  became  finally  tributary 
(Jud.  i.  28  ff.),  and  the  rest  were  not  subdued  at  all 
till  the  era  of  the  monarchy.  Shechem  plays  a  prominent 
r61e ;  but  it  was  then  a  Canaanitish  town.  Most  of  the 
cities  of  Canaan  were  really  made  over  again.  Those  that 
were  destroyed  were  renewed  in  outward  form.  Those 
that  survived  were  transformed  in  the  character  of  their 
population.  There  was  but  one  way  for  the  Hebrews  to 
fulfil  their  destiny,  and  that  was  to  conform  to  it.  Even 
the  cities  which  they  found  ready  made  they  could  not  at 
first  utilize.  The  Hebrew  city,  no  less  than  the  Canaanitic, 
was  an  institution,  an  affair  of  growth  and  development. 
Even  the  gate  of  the  elders  (Ruth  iv.  1  f.),  the  nucleus 
of  the  city,  was  irrelevant  to  the  Hebrew  society  of  the 
earlier  years  of  the  occupation.  The  council  must  still 
be  held  before  the  tent  of  the  tribal  or  family  chief.  No 
doubt  new  forms  of  social  integration  were  speedily  mani- 
fested. Small  communities  began  to  crystallize,  especially 
around  business  and  religious  centres,  and  thus  the  new 
was  blended  with  the  old  in  the  civic  life  of  Israel. 

§  478.     The  political  progress  of  the  Hebrews  at  the 
end  of  the  first  half-century  may  be  roughly  indicated. 


i^i 


•1 

■    tf 

1 

,', 

,  1 

•      ! 

, 

; 

i 

«;; 

;- 

i 

y    '. 

!'  ; 

118 


THE   EARLIER  "JUDGES" 


Book  VII 


Northern  and  Central  Palestine  were  still  more  fully  taken 
up  by  the  new  settlers  than  was  the  south  country  (§  186 
ff.).  Many  of  the  larger  fortresses  (on  elevated  points) 
were  still  held  by  the  Canaanites.  The  valleys  were 
mainly  but  not  exclusively  (Jud.  i.  19)  occupied  and 
cultivated  by  the  newcomers.  The  importance  of  this 
circumstance  is  plain.  If  Israel  is,  on  the  whole,  stronger 
than  Canaan,  the  latter  may  be  more  isolated  than  ever 
before.  For  the  command  of  the  lowlands  and  the  ravines 
makes  communication  easy  on  every  side.  The  native 
fortresses  are  being  surrounded  by  a  network  of  hostile 
forces,  which  is  drawn  closer  and  tighter  till  political  life 
and  movement  are  stilled.  But  the  process  is  long,  and 
here  and  there  a  strong  and  ancient  fortress  like  Jeru- 
salem is  able  to  hold  out  and  command  the  surrounding 
district,  even  till  the  time  of  David,  the  restorer  of  Israel 
and  the  final  conqueror  of  Canaan.  The  length  of  the 
task  of  subjugation  attests  its  slowness  and  difficulty. 
It  is,  indeed,  plain  that  no  combined  effort  could  be  made 
to  dislodge  Israel  after  the  days  of  Joshua.  But  many 
a  time  did  the  beleaguered  Canaanites  swoop  down  upon 
the  Hebrew  settlements,  harassed  as  these  often  were  by 
outside  foes. 

§  479.  Scanty  reminiscences  flash  out  now  and  then 
an  illuminating  gleam  over  the  obscurity  of  the  period. 
Particularly  suggestive  is  the  episode  of  Shamgar. 
According  to  the  Song  of  Deborali  (Jud.  v.  6)  the 
Hebrews  of  Central  Palestine  were,  in  his  time,  sorely 
pressed.  "The  highways  were  unused,"  because  the 
Canaanites  had  taken  advantage  of  the  losses  inflicted  in 
tlie  recent  invasion  by  Moab  to  lie  in  wait  for  travellers 
and  messengers,  shepherds  and  field-labourers,  and  thus 
to  cut  off  communication  between  the  settlements  of 
Israel.  Manifestly  numerous  formidable  castles  a 'id 
fortresses  were  still  manned  by  Canaanites  about  1100 
B.C.,  "so  the  wavfarers  used  to  walk  by  circuitous  paths." 
A  sudden  raid  by  the  Philistines  is  announced.     They 


Ch.  IV,  §  479     LAST  STRUGGLE  WITH  CAXAANITES 


119 


broke  into  the  plain  of  Megiddo  by  the  well-freciuentecl 
route  upon  which  they  were  often  later  to  march.  We 
are  sini[)ly  told  (Jud.  iii.  31)  that  "Shanigar,  the  son  of 
Auath,  smote  of  the  Philistines  six  hundred  men  with 
ox-goads."  But  how  instructive  is  the  picture!  A  hasty 
levy  brings  out  a  band  of  sturdy  shepherds.  These  are 
not  the  only  warriors  of  Israel ;  but  they  are  the  surest 
and  readiest.  The  kernel  of  the  nation  is  still  pastoial! 
Spears  and  perhaps  a  few  swords  (§  514)  are  to  be  had 
elsewhere.  But  to  this  old  chief  and  his  men  the  accus- 
tomed weapons  are  nearest  at  hand,  and  wielded  by  them 
they  are  sufficient.  The  Philistines  are  beaten  back. 
But  a  more  desperate  foe  is  preparing  a  more  formidable 
array.  The  last  great  struggle  is  to  Ije  waged  for  the 
possession  of  the  fairest  and  most  coveted  portion  of 
Palestine.  Israel  has,  by  dint  of  long  and  gradual 
aggression,  gained  the  richest  districts  on  the  southern 
side  of  the  valley  of  Jezreel,  and  in  the  fertile  plain  itself. 
Naphtali  and  Zebulon  are  encroaching  slowly  and  surely 
upon  the  Canaanitic  reserves  to  the  west  of  the  Lake 
of  Galilee.  The  time  is  favourable  for  retrieval  and 
revenge.  Israel  is  disunited.  The  tribes  have  ceased 
to  act  in  common.  In  any  case  they  cannot  communicate 
with  one  another.  "  The  peasantry  are  no  more,  they  are 
no  more  "  (v.  7).  On  whom  should  Israel  rely?  A  chief 
and  chieftainess  arise.  The  covenant  at  Sinai  has  still 
its  power  to  bind  the  people  of  Jehovah.  Deborah,  the 
chieftainess,  is  also  a  "prophetess"  (cf.  §  423).  She 
knows  the  secret  of  Israel's  strength:  unity  in  a  common 
devotion  to  Jehovah.  She  inspires  the  general,  Barak, 
not  merely  with  her  zeal  against  the  enemj-,  but  with  her 
faith  in  Jehovah.  In  spite  of  the  "circuitous  ways  "  the 
leaders  of  the  clans  are  reached.  All  Israel  is  once  more 
aroused,  though  all  do  not  respond.  The  battle  is  fought 
on  the  banks  of  the  famous  "old  river  Kishon  "  (v.  21). 
Again  the  victory  is  with  Israel,  though  again  the  people 
are  short  of  weapons. 


f^ 


.1' 
■  1 


II  if 


i 


l) 


i 


'i 


I 


120 


UHEAKING   UP  OF   CLANSIIIl' 


Book  VII 


§  480.  It  i.s  plain  that  we  have  arrived  liere  at  a  criti- 
cal point.  With  thi.s  last  general  struggle  against  the 
Cauaanites  Israel  stood  at  the  parting  of  the  ways,  relig- 
iously, politically,  and  socially.  No  wonder  that  a  great 
national  ode  was  now  sung  and  forever  preserved !  The 
old  tribal  brotherhood  was  breaking  up,  and  Israel  could 
not  present  a  united  front  against  its  foes  till  a  century 
of  disintegration  and  readjustment  had  passed.  Tliis 
Avas  the  last  great  gathering  of  the  clans.  Hitherto  three 
powerful  motives  had  kept  together,  in  emergencies  at 
least,  the  dominant  central  tribes.^  These  were  fidelity 
to  Jehovah,  the  need  of  common  action  against  the 
Canaanites,  and  the  tribal  organization.  For  political 
and  social  advantage  the  last  is  the  most  potent  of 
the  three.  Religion,  the  first  motive,  is  at  bottom  a 
personal  matter.  Its  outward  expression  in  ancient 
society  —  ceremony,  ritual,  sacrifice  —  is,  no  doubt,  the 
strongest  uniting  bond,  the  fundamental  basis,  and  the 
enduring  symbol  of  corporate  fellowship.  But  when 
external  influences  intervene  to  prevent  common  worship 
on  more  than  a  local  scale,  Avhen  new  modes  of  life 
supervene  upon  and  gradually  supplant  the  old,  then  the 
religious  feeling  more  easily  finds  satisfaction  with  a 
shorter  pilgrimage,  at  a  nearer  shrine,  with  new  fellow- 
worshippers,  it  may  be,  or  even  with  unaccustomed  or 
modified  rites.  So  was  it  with  Israel  after  a  few  decades 
of  the  new  conditions  of  life  in  Canaan. 

§  481.  This  was  one  of  the  main  reasons  why  a  single 
central  sanctuary  Avas  prescribed,  a  requirement  which 
thus  had  a  strong  political  as  well  as  moral  justification. 
But  it  is  easy  to  see  how  difficult  it  then  was  of  realiza- 
tion. And  without  this  centralization  of  worship,  a 
common  faith  in  Jehovah,  which  was  the  main  inspii-ation 
of  national  feeling,  could  not  be  maintained.  We  may 
put  the  case  briefly.     Trust  in  the   God  of  Israel  had 

1  In  Barak's  army  were  represented  Zebulou,  Naplitali,  Issachar, 
Maiiasseh,  Epliraim,  Benjamin. 


w 


Cii.  IV,  §  482 


KKLIGION  AND  THE   CITIES 


121 


brought  the  tribes  together  to  the  border.s  of  Ciiiuiun.  It 
had  made  their  first  attacks  sueeessfuh  It  had  kept 
them  united,  at  least  in  the  decisive  struggles,  until  the 
power  of  tlie  Canaanites  was  broken.  But  it  failed  as  a 
connnon  impulse  against  the  divisive  forces  whicli  hence- 
forth prevailed  until  the  new  monarchical  principle 
brought  the  people  together  once  more  under  new  condi- 
tions. We  may  observe,  moreover,  that  the  worship  of 
Jehovah  ceased  to  be  an  enthusiastic,  inspiring,  national 
sentiment,  not  merely  because  of  the  develop-meiit  of  local 
interests  leading  to  tlie  establishment  of  local  assemblies, 
or  because  of  the  distracting  effect  of  subsequent  attacks 
here  and  there  on  the  borders  of  Israel  and  actual  devas- 
tations of  its  territory;  but,  above  all,  because  of  the 
disturljing  and  deteriorating  influences  of  the  Canaanitic 
worship  itself. 

§  482.  It  may  be  remarked,  further,  that  it  was  the 
influence  of  the  cities  that  was  most  strongly  felt  in  this 
direction.  1  Hebrew  society  in  Canaan  was  purer  and 
freer  in  its  original  seats  among  the  pastures  and  the 
plantations.  The  cities,  which  remained  so  largely 
Canaanitic  in  population,  if  not  always  in  allegiance, 
became  ever  more  and  more  a  menace  to  the  worship  and 
a  snare  to  the  worshippers  of  Jehovah.  Thus  we  see  that 
the  same  tendencies  which  made  for  social  disintegration 
and  the  relaxing  of  the  tribal  bonds,  promoted  also  relig- 
ious degenei'ation,  infidelity,  and  consequent  disunion. 
And  so  we  find  all  the  three  motives  to  united  action 
and  sentiment  simultaneously  weakened  and  corrui)ted. 

'  Thus  we  find  tliat  instances  of  idolatry  are  mentioned  in  connection 
with  cities.  For  example  the  altar  of  Ra'al,  under  the  immediate  protec- 
tion of  the  father  of  Gideon,  has  as  its  defenders  "the  men  of  tlie  city  " 
(Jud.  vi.  27  ff.).  It  was  the  Ha'al  of  the  city  nf  Shechem  that  seduced  the 
neighbouring  Hebrews  after  the  death  of  Gideon  (,Jud.  viii.  33  ;  cf.  ix. 
40).  The  sanu!  thing  is  true  of  the  jiractice  of  gross  licentiousness.  For 
instance,  it  is  in  the  town  of  Gibeah  of  Benjamin  that  those  deeds  were 
wrought  which  aroused  the  Hebrew  tribes  to  a  sense  of  the  awful  degenera- 
tion of  morals  brought  about  by  association  with  the  Canaanites  (Jud.  xix.j. 


n 


I*' 


f 


!•! 


■    I 


i    i 


^i 


122 


TUANSITIUN    TO   CITY    LU  K 


Ii(M.K     \II 


§  483.  We  may  say,  bioadly  speaking,  that  it  was 
the  ett'ort  to  adjust  itself  to  the  needs  and  obligations  of 
life  in  cities  that  brought  about  the  disruption  of  Hebrew 
society  as  a  necessary'  step  towards  its  reorganization  in 
higher  and  more  efficient  forms.  It  is  not  difficult  to 
draw  an  outline  sketch  of  the  elementary  community 
which  is  typical  of  this  intermediate  stage.  How  the 
Semitic  city  of  the  ancient  time  Avas  founded,  h« 
grew,  how  it  was  constituted,  and  how  it  was  governed 
Ave  have  already  seen  (§  31  ff.).  Tliese  more  outward 
aspects  may  now  be  supplemented  by  an  account  of  its 
inner  life  and  movement.  It  is  often  said  that  Oriental 
manners  do  not  change,  and  that  a  modern  Eastern  town 
offers  a  good  representation  of  an  ancient  cit}'  of  Pales- 
tine. There  is  much  that  is  true  in  the  suggestion,  but 
much  also  that  is  misleading.  Every  great  period  in  the 
history  of  every  race  of  mankind  impresses  its  own  dis- 
tinctive symbolism  of  outward  expression,  not  merely 
upon  the  figures  and  faces  of  men,  but  also  ujion  all  the 
Avorks  of  tlieir  hands,  their  habitations,  and  their  aa  "  ->le 
mechanical  euA'ironment.  In  all  the  products  of  1  u 
action  there  are  marks  of  life  and  thought  and,  therei  ..e, 
also  the  conditions  of  variation  as  Avell  as  of  per^^etua- 
tion  of  form  and  t3'pe.  National  character  is  depicted  in 
the  construction  of  houses,  the  style  of  their  furniture, 
and  in  the  products  of  the  useful  arts  generally,  as  Avell 
as  in  the  physical  movement,  the  address,  and  the  social 
bearinsf  of  the  men  of  the  time. 

§  484.  Such  features  of  the  special  life  of  the  HebrcAv 
city  Ave  cannot  Avholly  reproduce.  But  of  some  matters 
of  interest  Ave  may  be  reasonably  sure.  We  may  say,  for 
example,  that,  except  for  purposes  of  Avar  or  training  for 
Avar,  or  of  tribal  or  national  feasts  and  religious  pilgrim- 
ages, the  city  Avas  the  exclusive  gathering-point  of  its 
OAvn  proper  community.  As  city  or  village  life  grcAv 
more  and  more,  the  family  at  the  one  extreme,  and  the 
tribe  or  even  the  clan  at  the  other,  greAv  less  and  less. 


Cii.  IV,  §  18o       DEVELor.MEXT  OF   IXDUSTUIKS 


1-JJ 


The  residents  of  a  city  might  possibly  he  all  or  nearly  all 
of  the  same  tribe ;  they  would  hardly  be  all  of  the  same 
elan,  or  of  the  same  kin  or  family  group  (1  Sam.  xx.  0). 
Their  religious  services,  exce[»t  upon  great  occasions, 
would  be  held  more  and  more  apart.  Their  work, 
whether  commercial  or  industrial,  would  Ijecome  greatly 
more  specialized.  New  guilds  of  tradesmen  would  be 
added  in  the  larger  cities,  such  as  makers  of  agricultural 
implements,  carpenters,  bricklayers,  stonecutters.  Hand- 
mills  became  the  pro[)erty  of  nearly  every  house,  but  often 
the  larger  mills,  turned  by  asses,  were  used  for  whole 
neighbourhoods.  Husbandmen,  before  almost  unknown, 
were  now  the  prevailing  type  of  labouring  men.  These 
branched  off  into  several  classes.  The  raising  of  cereals 
and  of  flax  and  hemp  now  divided  the  interests  of  the 
bulk  of  the  people  with  the  rearing  and  tending  of  cattle. 
Besides,  there  was  the  care  of  the  vine,  the  fig,  and  the 
olive,  which  represented  so  largely  the  productiveness  of 
Palestine.  The  smiths  and  founders,  the  potters  and 
weavers,  to  keep  pace  with  the  demands  of  the  new  com- 
plex society,  now  developed  into  artists  and  designers. 
The  stationary  forge,  the  wheel,  and  the  loom  became  the 
training  schools  f(n'  the  ingenuous  youth  who,  in  the  freer, 
simpler  times,  had  no  apprenticeship  to  works  of  skill  save 
in  the  school  of  the  bow,  the  sling,  and  the  lance. 

§  485.  It  is  manifest  that  by  the  operation  of  such 
tendencies  Hebrew  society  Avas  gradually  but  surely 
undergoing  a  revolution.  The  change  from  tribal  to 
civic  life  Avas,  socially,  far  more  radical  and  distinctive 
than  the  movement  which  later  brought  about  the  mon- 
archy. The  latter  altered  the  external  aspect  of  the  state 
b^  giving  a  common  direction  and  purpose  to  a  number 
of  communities  otherwise  incapable  of  united  action. 
Bu.t  the  former  was  an  internal  revolution.  It  created 
the  communities  themselves,,  and  determined  forever  the 
prevailing  type  of  the  social  life  of  Israel.  In  trying  to 
apprehend  this  transformation  Ave  have  been  specially  con- 


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124 


OFFICIALS;   THK   ELDERS 


Book  VII 


cernetl  with  the  occasions  and  forms  of  the  new.  mode  of 
life  in  cities.  We  may  now  summarily  complete  this 
poitioii  of  our  survey  by  pointing  out  how  the  processes 
by  which  tlie  new  type  of  society  was  evolved  brought 
about,  in  spite  of  their  benefits,  a  state  of  chings  little 
short  of  anarchy,  and  only  to  be  remedied  by  the  ultimate 
surrender  of  individual  and  communal  autonomy. 

§  48G.  The  dominant  needs  of  the  whole  community 
were  prompt  and  faithful  administration  of  justice  and 
ample  provision  for  the  fulfilment  of  religious  duties. 
These  two  requirements,  which  to  us  moderns  seem  inhe- 
rently distinct,  were  to  the  ancient  Semites,  in  their  more 
primitive  social  stages,  practicallv  inseparable.  A  glance 
at  the  modes  and  agencies  of  the  administraaon  of  law 
during  this  period  is  now  in  order,  and  will  help  us  to  a 
clear  understanding  of  the  whole  main  question  involved. 
Under  the  fully  developed  cit}'  government  all  the  essen- 
tial classes  of  official  life  had  ample  play  for  their  func- 
tions. There  were  first  the  "elders,"  who  rei)resented  the 
old  heads  of  the  families  and  clans  under  the  tribal  system. 
These  functionaries  were  continued  under  the  new  con- 
ditions of  local  government.  But  hereditary  claims, 
when  accompanied  by  a  sufficient  property  qualification, 
came  at  length  to  be  an  .adequate  title  to  the  office 
(§  509),  and  in  a  society  where  prescription  held  such 
sway  the  right  of  no  responsible  member  of  the  session 
was  likely  to  be  questioned.  Their  jurisdiction  naturally 
embraced  matters  of  family  concern :  disputes  as  to  con- 
jugal lelations  (Deut.  xxii.  15  ff.),  about  inheritances, 
the  division  of  property,^  the  appointment  of  the  (joel  or 

1  How  natural  it  was  f<n'  a  Palestinian  to  appeal  in  such  matters  to  a 
iiian  eminent  for  wisdom  and  justice,  even  if  a  perfect  stranger,  is  sliown 
in  the  incident  recorded  in  Luke  xii.  V-'>  f.,  and  wliich  took  place  in  times 
long  subsequent  ti>  the  ".Judges."  The  ditliculty  which  occurs  to  us  as 
inevitable  from  the  custom  of  liaving  a  bench  of  magistrates  cho.sen  neither 
by  people  nor  king  is  (luite  imaginary.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  elders 
sat  to  be  consulted  if  necessary,  not  to  thrust  themselves  on  any  one  sup- 
posed to  be  in  need  of  coun.sel  or  discipline. 


; 


ym 


Cn.  IV,  §  488 


THE   LOCAL  JUDGES 


125 


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upholder  of  the  family  (Ruth  iv.),  the  settlement  of  blood- 
revenge  (Deut.  xix.  12).  They  also  represented  the  city 
in  controversies  with  other  cities  as  to  responsibility  for 
crime,  calamity,  and  the  like  (Deut.  xxi.  1  ff.). 

§  487.  Next  there  Avere  the  local  "judges."  These 
were,  no  doubt,  originally  appointed  as  arbitrators.  They 
are  not  exactl}-  a  characteristic  institution  of  civic  as 
opposed  to  nomadic  life,  for  the  Bedawin  have  their  kdrjls 
as  well  as  their  sheichs.  TJiey  naturally  came  more  and 
more  to  the  front  as  new  classes  of  cases  arose  for  which 
the  law  of  the  tribe  or  the  family  had  made  no  provision. 
Such  cases,  for  example,  as  are  dealt  witli  in  the  "  Book  of 
the  Covenant"  (§  474)  must  have  led  to  complications  for 
which  no  precedent  could  be  found.  And  it  is  signifi- 
cant that  the  term  "judges"  does  not  occur  in  tliat  pri- 
mary legislation.  Yet  the  function  is  foreshadowed  in 
the  mention  of  "arbitrators"  (E.V.  "judges"  Ex.  xxi. 
22)  to  whom  appeal  was  to  be  made  in  a  certain  case  of 
special  dilificulty.  What  the  "judges"  eventuall}-  had  to 
do  fall  accordingly  under  two  heads.  They  had  to  decide 
cases  of  appeal  from  the  ordinar}-  bench  of  elders  at  the 
cit}' gates;  the}- had  also  to  administer  the  new  legisla- 
tion as  it  arose,  and  to  establish  precedents  in  unforeseen 
and  novel  instances.  They  were,  doubtless,  as  a  rule, 
taken  from  the  body  of  the  elders  of  the  city,  and  also, 
when  the  more  complete  organization  of  tlie  kingl}-  time 
came  into  vogue  (§  530  f.),  from  the  "princes"  or  chiefs 
of  the  military  or  fiscal  divisions  larger  or  smaller.  With 
the  further  development  of  the  kingdom  the  "  judges " 
naturally  became  more  important  as  compared  with  tlie 
elders,  and  played  a  great  part  in  the  social  and  moral 
history  of  the  nation. 

§  488.  A  third  kind  of  judicial  function  is  that  exer- 
cised by  the  priests,  and  later,  also,  by  prophets. ^     In  the 

1  The  difference  between  the  position  of  the  two  classes  does  not  lie  so 
much  in  the  binding  force  of  their  respective  decisions  as  in  the  fact  that 
the  priests  were  from  the  first  ofh'i-m/  judges,  whereas  the  prophets  were 


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126 


PRIESTS   AND  PROPHETS 


Book  VII 


Hebrew  terminology  it  is  called  the  giving  of  direction 
or  "teaching"  (E.V.  "law,"  torat},  and  it  developed  in 
the  ministry  of  the  prophets  into  absolutely  immeasurable 
importance.  Resort  or  appeal  to  the  priest  or  prophet  is 
called  coming  "unto  God"  (e.^.  Ex.  xxi.  6;  xxii.  8),^ 
because  the  priest,  or  the  prophet,  was  the  direct  repre- 
sentative of  Jehovah.  The  term  "  direction  "  represents 
precisely  the  primary  and  fundamental  notion  of  these 
decisions.  They  were  essentially  of  an  advisory  char- 
acter, and  thus  constituted  the  "oracle"  of  the  Hebrews. 
As  originally  each  family  group  had  its  own  priest,  resort 
was  naturally  had  to  him  for  light  on  practical  difficulties, 
not  so  much  the  settling  of  disputes  as  pointing  out  the 
safe,  judicious,  or  righteous  way  for  the  individual  or 
the  household  in  embarrassment.  And  a  glance  at 
the  instances  of  such  appeals  recorded  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment will  show  that  they  were  always  mainlj^  of  the 
same  character,  though  often  on  a  larger  scale.  But 
as  the  genius  of  the  true  religion  abhors  what  is  conven- 
tional and  perfunctory,  the  part  played  by  the  priests 
receives  little  emphasis,  and  that  borne  by  the  prophets 
comes  always  more  and  more  into  prominence,  until  we 
find  them  swaying  the  destinies  of  the  whole  nation  by 
"the  word  of  Jehovah."  The  subject  is  fascinating  as 
Avell  as  fruitful.  In  this  connection  I  can  only  add  that 
this  third  kind  of  "judgment"  differed  from  the  other 
two  in  this  respect,  among  others,  that  the  oracle  of  the 
priest  or  the  prophet  liad  no  outward  compulsion,  while 
the  elders  and  the  judges  had  apparently  not  only  judicial 
but  also  executive  functions,  according  to  the  practice 
and  principles  of  ancient  Semitic  jurisprudence.  Tliis 
distinction  brings  out  into  clearer  relief  the  nearness  of 

appeciled  to  on  account  of  their  wisdom  and  spiritual  authority.  It  was, 
of  course,  as  a  "  prophet "  that  Jesus  was  appealed  to  in  the  case  above 
cited. 

1  R.V.  margin,  "  judges."    The  reader  will  see  that  this  rendering  is 
not  strictly  correct.    In  Ex.  xxii.  28,  it  is  entirely  erroneous. 


Cii.  IV,  §  489     RELIGION  AND  THE  LOCAL  COURTS 


127 


« 


priest  and  prophet  to  Jehovah  himself.  What  was  essen- 
tially of  the  character  of  a  revelation  carried  with  it  its 
own  warrant.  It  was  only  when  it  became  materialized 
into  statute  law  that  it  needed  to  be  administered  by  a 
set  of  officials  (cf.  §  590). 

§  489.  Yet  these  more  superficial  distinctions  must 
not  blind  us  to  the  comprehensive  general  fact  that  all 
law  was  essentially  of  a  religious  character.  Primaril}-- 
the  family  head,  who  was  also  the  priest  of  his  own  house- 
hold, directed  his  family  according  to  the  counsel  of  God 
(Gen.  xviii.  19,  etc.).  And  as  the  Hebrew  commonwealth 
expanded,  the  same  fundamental  principle  continued  to 
be  recocfnized  that  .Tehovah  was  the  ultimate  fountain  of 
all  legislation.  To  this  it  was  an  obvious  corollary  that 
his  direct  representatives  wielded  a  unique  authority  as 
law-givers.  Passing  over  the  more  notorious  cases  of 
Moses  and  Aaron,  it  is  sufficient  to  cite  the  fact  that 
many  of  the  "  judges  "  were  priests  or  prophets,  and  that 
they  were  also  permitted  to  offer  sacrifices  upon  occasion. 
Now  we  may  note  the  connection  between  the  administra- 
tion of  justice  and  the  observance  of  religious  obligations 
on  the  part  of  the  people  at  large.  In  the  first  place  we 
observe  that  any  laxity,  irregularity,  or  deterioration  of 
the  religious  services,  which  were  the  normal  function  of 
the  priests,  necessarily  robbed  the  legal  codes  of  their 
dignity  and  prestige,  and,  besides,  checked  or  corrupted 
justice  at  its  very  fountain.  Again  (and  this  brings  us 
back  to  our  point  of  departure),  if  any  influences,  either 
local  or  national,  interfered  to  prevent  or  seduce  the  mem- 
bers of  the  several  communities  from  attending  the  pre- 
scribed religious  ordinances,  they  would  be  thrown  more 
completely  upon  the  often  inadequate  local  courts  for  tlie 
settlement  of  matters  of  controversy.  It  was  to  prevent 
both  the  tendency  and  the  results  that  the  national  or 
sectional  judges  were  a[)pointed.  It  was  certainlj-  the 
purpose  of  the  Mosaic  legislation  to  have  a  court  of 
appeal  (Ex.  xviii.  et  al.')  or  of  central  jurisdiction;  and 


! 


I 

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■  i 


\  II 


128 


DECLINE  OF  CENTRAL   RESORTS 


Book  VII 


>i 


one  great  end  of  the  whole  system  was  virtually  nullified 
when  this  was  neglected  or  contemned. 

§  490.  Notoriously  this  ideal  of  a  single  religious  and 
a  single  judicial  centre  Avas  never  fully  realized  for  all 
Israel  in  the  long  period  of  the  Judges.  What  then  shall 
we  say  of  the  several  leading  centres?^  Of  them,  too,  it 
must  be  confessed  that  they  failed  to  secure  a  toleraljle 
measure  of  moral  and  social  benefit  for  the  people.  One 
after  another  their  influence  and  prestige  declined.  Even 
Shiloh,  the  most  renowned  among  them  all  both  as  a 
seat  of  religion  and  of  justice,  the  home  of  the  Ark  and 
of  its  tabernacle,  came  to  an  end  as  a  resort  of  pilgrims 
and  oracle-seekers.  It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose 
that  it  ever  served  as  such  for  the  whole  of  Israel.  We 
never  liear  of  its  clients  extending  beyond  the  plain  of 
Jezreel  on  the  north  or  as  far  as  Hebron  on  the  south. 
But  for  the  central  tribes  it  was  long  Avithout  a  rival  for 
sanctity  and  attractiveness.  It  was  at  the  height  of  its 
popularity  and  influence  under  the  regime  of  Eli  and  his 
sons,  priests  and  judges  of  Israel.  It  did  not  survive 
their  administration.  The  inefficiency  and  corruption  of 
Hophni  and  Phinehas  would  in  any  case  have  hastened  its 
downfall,  which  took  place  shortly  after  their  regime  was 
brought  to  its  tragic  close  (1  Sam.  iv.  11  ft'.).  The  cir- 
cumstances of  the  dav  of  its  visitation  have  not  been 
recorded.  We  only  know  that  it  was  overwhelmed  by 
such  a  sudden  and  awful  calamity  that  the  event  was 
recalled  with  horror  through  all  the  following  centuries 
(Jer.  vii.  14;  xxvi.  G;  cf.  Ps.  Ixxviii.  GO). 

§  491.  This  catastrophe  marks  a  crisis  and  an  epoch 
in  the  political  as  well  as  in  the  social  and  religious  his- 


1  How  such  resorts  necesscirily  sprang  up  here  and  there  according  to 
the  needs  of  the  scattered  settlers,  is  shown  in  the  case  of  Abel-Heth- 
Maacah,  whicli,  as  we  are  toKI  in  2  Sam.  xx.  18,  was  famous  as  a  centre 
of  good  counsel  sought  out  by  all  the  country-side.  Verse  10  indicates 
at  the  same  time  its  importance  as  the  home  of  a  large  comnuinity,  "a 
mother  in  Israel." 


i 


1 


vpv 


Cii.  IV,  §  49,3       ASSAULTS  OF   NATIONAL  FOES 


130 


tory  of  the  time.  Just  as  the  hist  general  rally  under 
Deborah  and  Barak  was  the  conclusion  of  the  first  main 
period  of  the  history  of  the  Hebrew  settlement  in  Canaan 
(§  480),  so  this  failure  of  centralized  administration  and 
worship,  upon  a  scale  only  less  than  national,  marks  the 
beginning  of  the  end  in  this  whole  probationary  forma- 
tive era.  After  their  decisive  overthrow  the  Canaanites 
ceased  to  play  more  than  a  local  and  insignificant  part  as 
a  foe  of  the  Hebrew  commonwealth.  Meanwhile  other 
peoples  had  harassed  Hebrews  and  (Janaanites  alike. 
Above  all,  the  half-foreign  Philistines  (§  192;  cf.  §  IGG, 
note)  had  become  more  than  mere  raiders  (§  479),  and 
were  now  threatening  the  independence  and  the  hope  of 
Israel. 

§  492.  The  onslaughts  of  the  Philistines,  as  well  as 
the  preceding  attacks  of  other  foreigners,  must  be  reck- 
oned both  as  a  disintegrating  and  as  a  unifying  force 
among  the  tribes  of  Israel.  As  long  as  loyalty  and  devo- 
tion to  Jehovah,  which  were  much  the  same  thing  as 
patriotism,  continued  to  animate  the  Hebrew  people,  the 
assaults  of  outsiders  formed  one  of  the  strongest  means 
of  bringing  and  keeping  them  together.  Indeed,  the 
mere  sense  of  danger  continued  throughout  the  Avhole 
history  of  the  people  to  act  of  itself  as  a  wholesome 
cohesive  force.  On  the  other  hand,  a  successful  invasion, 
followed  by  even  a  brief  occupation  of  territory,  neces- 
sarily kept  the  ill-cemented  tribes  and  smaller  communi- 
ties apart. 

§  493.  We  have  now  to  add  another  nrcasion  of  sepa- 
ration more  dangerous  and  noxious  still.  Allusion  has 
just  been  made  to  the  defeat  of  the  last  formidable  com- 
bination of  the  native  Canaanites.  Tliis  final  military 
triumph  does  not  carry  with  it  the  significance  suggested 
by  a  victory  over  a  deadly  hereditary  foe.  The  conquest 
was  dearly  bought.  It  was  followed  by,  nay  it  even 
involved,  disaster  to  the  victors  more  deadly  than  the 
losses  inflicted  by  Sisera  with  his  chariots  of  iron.     The 


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130 


FRIENDSHIP   WITH   CANAANITES 


Book  VII 


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friendship  of  tlie  Canaanites  was  more  dangerous  than 
their  enmity.  The  latter  implied,  at  least,  that  the 
worsliip  of  Baal  would  have  no  hold  upon  the  people  of 
Jehovah.  The  former  was  in  itself  a  compromise  between 
the  two  religions.  Of  the  friendliness  between  the  two 
peoples  during  the  latter  half  of  the  period  of  the  Judges 
we  have  abundant  evidence.  The  truces  that  had  been 
made,  sometimes  as  a  modus  vivendi,  sometimes  as  a 
necessary  alliance  against  a  common  invader,  became  at 
length  a  permanent  peace  (cf.  1  Sam.  vii.  14).  The 
conflicts  of  armies  had,  at  first,  given  place  to  local  feuds, 
to  attacks  upon  and  sorties  from  one  walled  town  or 
another  (§  478).  Even  these  had  come  to  an  end  before 
the  time  of  Samuel.  The  result  Avas,  in  fact,  something 
like  an  amalgamation.  The  issue,  as  we  have  seen, 
depended  upon  the  fate  of  the  Canaanitic  cities.  That 
these  became  even  nominally  Hebrew  im[)lied  an  amalga- 
mation of  the  races.  As  far  as  the  south  was  concerned, 
tlie  way  had  been  prepared  very  early  by  the  adoption,  on 
the  part  of  Judah,  of  large  foi-eign  elements,  chief  among 
which  were  Kenites  and  Calebites.  This  far-reaching 
movement  doubtless  encouraged  a  similar  rapprochement 
throughout  the  whole  of  Israel.  Outwardly,  no  doubt, 
the  process  of  union  was  in  the  guise  of  an  absorption 
of  the  Canaanites  by  their  Hebrew  adversaries.  More- 
over, the  union  implied  of  necessity  an  acknowledgment, 
on  the  part  of  the  weaker,  of  tlie  God  of  the  stronger 
(§  61).  But  where  the  acquiescent  population  was  at  all 
considerable  a  gradual  union  of  the  two  parties  was  the 
actual  result. 

§  494.  This  was  the  compromise,  the  surrender  of  the 
pure  worship  of  Jehovah,  so  dreaded  by  the  great  Prophet 
of  the  olden  time  and  by  all  loyal  Israelites  ever  after  his 
day.  We  shall  appreciate  the  situation  better  if  we  try 
to  follow  the  process  in  our  imagination.  The  numerous 
surviving  cities  of  the  Canaanites,  occupying  as  they  so 
often  did  the  sites  of  the  "  high  places,"  came  to  be  occu- 


il 


Cii.  IV,  §  495 


RELIGIOUS  COMPROMISE 


131 


#1 


pied,  or  a  least  controlled,  by  the  dominant  Hebrew  popu- 
lation. What  could  be  easier  than  that  which  actually 
took  place?  We  must  remember  that  Israel  had  now 
for  scores  of  years  been  following  on  the  whole  a  career  of 
selfish  aggressiveness.  However  much  the  original  leaders 
may  have  cherished  a  more  spiritual  and  ideal  view  of  the 
outcome  of  the  conquest,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  mass  of 
the  tribesmen  thought  of  the  matter  as  a  business  of  ac- 
quiring wealtli  and  ease.  The  sphere  of  religion  simply 
afforded  new  chances  of  self-aggrandizement  and  social 
advantage,  coupled  with  rare  facilities  for  a  congenial 
fashion  of  worship. 

§  495.  Religious  service  was  inseparable  from  the  daily 
life  and  work  of  all  the  Semitic  peoples.  What  could  be 
more  obvious  than  the  opportunity  of  utilizing  the  local 
sanctuaries  which  were  already  so  flourishing  and  influen- 
tial ?  What  more  easy  than  the  ready  device  of  honouring 
Jehovah  and  serving  Baal  ?  How  simple  a  thing  to  appro- 
priate the  ready-made  altars  and  shrines  of  Baal,  and  to 
convert  them  to  the  service  of  Jehovah  I  How  easy  to 
secure  a  host  of  retainers  and  patrons  for  the  God  of  Israel, 
by  permitting  the  votaries  of  the  time-honoured  shrines 
to  continue  their  ancient  ritual  and  to  unite  therewith  the 
name  and  prestige  of  Jehovah  I  And  how  inevitable  it 
was  that  the  servants  of  Jehovah  should  adopt  the  cere- 
monies proper  to  the  prescriptive  cult  of  the  locality  I 
For  these  were  redolent  of  the  flavour  and  spirit  of  the 
very  soil.  They  were  repeated  and  perpetuated  as  natu- 
rally as  the  rising  of  the  sun  and  the  changes  of  the  moon, 
the  alternation  of  the  seasons,  the  bloom  of  the  flowers, 
and  the  ripening  of  the  fruits.  The  very  ties  that  bound 
the  Hebrews  to  the  land  of  Canaan  were  bonds  which 
attached  them  most  intimately  and  alluringly  to  the  gods 
of  the  land.  To  learn  outwardly  that  their  dearly  bought 
home  was  Jehovah's  land,  was  a  lesson  speedily  acquired. 
But  the  rivals  of  Israel's  God,  Avho  claimed  his  preroga- 
tives and  actually  assumed  his  name,  could  only  be  sub- 


i' '- 


il 
■I 


il 


:ii 


t 

1 


'i 


II  ;1 


I 


:r 


>i 


P'!i 


132 


RfeSUMf:  OF   rOLITlCAL   CHANGES  Book  VII 


verted  when  the  outward  acknowledgment  and  service  of 
Jehovah  became  transformed  into  the  pure  worship  of  the 
heart  and  the  willing  obedience  of  the  life.  To  accomplish 
this  result  in  Israel  was  the  aim  of  the  prophetic  move- 
ment, Avhich  had  already  begun  before  the  commonwealth 
became  a  monarchy. 

§  496.  There  is  no  further  need  to  illustrate  the  social 
disintegration  of  Israel  before  the  days  of  the  monarchy. 
But  a  rdsumd  may  be  given  of  our  leading  points  of  view. 
The  breaking  up  of  the  tribal  system,  inevitable  under  any 
form  and  mode  of  settlement  in  a  land  of  cities,  villages, 
and  cultivated  soil,  was  not  followed  by  a  durable  reunion 
on  any  extensive  scale  and  resting  upon  v.,y  inner  prin- 
ciple of  cohesion.  Among  the  occasions  and  motives  of 
segregation  and  disruption,  emphasis  is  to  be  laid  upon 
the  want  of  an  administration  of  justice  on  a  national  or 
even  tribal  scale,  and  the  failure  of  any  central  sanctuary 
to  unify  the  tribesmen  or  to  attract  them  as  regular  wor- 
shippers. On  the  other  hand,  special  attention  must  be 
called  to  the  necessary  establishment  of  primitive  local 
courts  for  the  newly  formed  communities,  and  to  the  con- 
venience as  well  as  the  attractiveness  of  the  local  sacred 
places  which  were  often  the  modified  reproduction  of  the 
Canaanitic  shrines.  Particular  stress  should  be  placed  upon 
the  character  of  the  civic  communities  that  sprang  up  under 
the  new  conditions  of  life  in  Canaan,  in  their  bearing  upon 
both  the  political  and  the  religious  history  of  the  Hebrews. 
This  form  of  social  aggregation  was  universal  among  the 
Semites  after  their  abandonment  of  the  nomadic  life. 
It  was  also  dominant  among  the  Canaanites  at  the  time 
of  the  conquest.  Indeed,  Israel,  through  the  growth  and 
multiplication  of  its  own  and  its  adopted  cities,  was  fast 
drifting  into  Canaanitism 

§  497.  If  in  the  foregoing  observations  too  much  im- 
portance seems  to  have  been  ascribed  to  the  influence  of 
religious  associations  in  recasting  and  moulding  the  forms 
of   Hebrew  society,  I  would  ask  the  reader  to    transfer 


m 


Cii.  IV,  §  498        POWER   OF  RELIGIOUS   HABIT 


133 


himself  in  imiigiuation  to  the  times,  the  region,  and  the 
people  that  have  been  engaging  our  attention.  Let  him  be 
reminded  that  in  ancient  and  especially  in  Semitic  society, 
religion  was  the  elemental  force  which  swayed  most 
strongly  both  individual  and  social  life.  In  thought,  feel- 
ing, and  motive,  religion  was  the  factor  at  once  the  most 
comprehensive,  the  most  profound,  and  the  most  urgent. 
Yet  it  was  most  powerful  as  a  habit  of  life  and  as  a  condi- 
tion of  social  existence.  To  understand  this  ariglit,  we 
should  divest  the  term  "religion"  of  its  modern  and 
especially  of  its  Christian  associations.  Rather  we  should 
have  to  modify  the  word  and  call  it  relifjiousness.  It  did 
not  always  include  or  imply  morality;  it  was  not  even 
necessarily  prompted  by  the  spirit  of  devotion.  Indeed, 
it  was  compatible  with  the  absence  of  all  the  elements 
which  we  regard  as  essential,  except  that  of  reverence. 
Like  every  other  expression  of  the  .spirit  of  humanity,  it 
was  rooted  both  in  sentiment  and  habit,  the  immaterial 
and  the  material,  the  supersensuous  and  the  sensuous. 
To  the  vague  but  omnipotent  and  overawing  world  of 
the  unseen  the  votary  was  united  by  the  elastic  cord  of 
wonder,  hope,  and  dread.  To  the  visible  world  he  was 
bound  by  the  iron  chain  of  custom,  of  ceremony,  and  of 
ritual.  The  power  of  the  one  was  commensurate  with  the 
influence  of  the  other;  the  manner  of  the  one  with  the 
quality  of  the  other.  The  grosser  the  beliefs,  the  more 
enslaving  were  the  rite  and  ceremony.  The  purer  the 
faith,  the  freer  and  less  stringent  were  the  forms  of  out- 
ward devotion. 

§  498.  Reverting  for  a  moment  to  the  prevailing  form 
of  political  and  social  life  among  the  people  of  Canaan  and 
among  the  Semites  generall}',  I  would  remind  the  reader 
that  the  very  founding  of  a  city  was  a  religious  act.  The 
city  itself  was  not  the  community;  but  it  was  its  centre,  its 
nursery,  and  its  home.  And  just  as  the  inner  life  of  the 
community  was  mainly  based  upon  and  determined  by  its 
religious  beliefs  and  customs,  so  the  establishment  of  that 


•  n 

I 


m. 


I    U- 


w 


134 


FOUNDING  OF   CITIES 


Book  VII 


:  h  \ 


f  i 
,  I 
t     ; 


m 


.^ii 


11.  i 


which  guarded  it  and  gave  it  outward  form  and  character, 
was  a  matter  primarily  of  religious  concern  and  control. 
We  are  familiar  with  the  sacred  rites  which  accompanied 
the  founding  of  a  city  among  Greeks  and  Romans.^  The 
records  of  Semitic  history  testify  also,  directly  and  indi- 
rectly, to  tlie  sacredness  of  walls  and  fortifications,  and 
their  consecration  to  the  patron  deity.  The  Hebrew  litera- 
ture 2  tells  the  same  story.  For  example,  the  destruction 
of  the  Canaanitish  cities  was  not  ordained  as  a  military  ex- 
pedient, but  as  a  religious  act.  The  character  which  the 
city  bore  at  its  foundation  it  retained  throughout  its  his- 
tory. Hence  it  is  that  we  find  so  many  names  of  localities 
associated  with  the  deities  to  whom  they  were  originally 
dedicated. 

§  499.  Another  general  indication  that  religious  asso- 
ciations and  practices  were  the  controlling  social  force 
among  the  ancient  Hebrews  in  Palestine  should  be  par- 
ticularly noted.  I  refer  to  the  outstanding  fact  that  the 
festal  gatherings  of  the  people  were  mainly  characterized  by 
religious  observances ;  that  every  meal  shared  in  common 
involved  a  religious  sacrifice ;  that  all  the  public  festivi- 
ties of  the  people,  as  well  as  their  mourning  and  fasting, 
were  stated  and  conventional,  and  were,  in  fact,  part  of  a 
religious  programme.  Gatherings  of  a  festal  character 
were  regularly  held  by  kins  or  family  groups,  and  also  by 
clans  or  by  tribes,  at  stated  times  or  seasons  in  the  month 
or  in  the  year.  Whatever  was  of  interest  or  importance 
to  each  of  these  divisions  of  the  people  naturally  also  came 
up  for  discussion  and  settlement  on  these  occasions,  which 

1  Explained  by  Fustel  de  Coulan,2:es,  La  Cite  antique,  p.  151  ff. 

2  The  prohibition  of  the  rebuilding  of  Jericho  has  its  explanation  in 
the  fact  that  it  had  been  a  city  dedicated  to  false  worship.  Its  very  site 
was  therelore  doomed.  This  instance  was  intended  for  a  precedent  for 
the  other  cUies  of  the  Canaanites.  The  punishment  of  Iliel,  the  Bethclite 
(1  K.  xvi.  34  r  of.  Josh.  vl.  20),  was  inflicted  because  by  his  rebuilding  the 
city  he  had  Identified  himself  with  the  idolatrous  community  which  had 
laid  its  foundations,  given  it  its  distinctive  character,  and  thereby  rendered 
it  "devoted"  to  Jehovah  (cf.  Josh.  vi.  17,  21). 


Ch.  IV,  §  501 


RELIGIOUS   GATHERINGS 


18ft 


thus  became  ii  sort  of  clearing-house  for  the  social  and 
political  transactions  of  the  preceding  term. 

^  oOO.  An  important  observation  must  here  be  made. 
During  the  greater  portion  of  the  time  of  the  Judges  the 
political  uses  of  these  assemblies  and  pf)pular  gatherings 
became  continually  less  prominent,  while  the  social  pur- 
poses remained  the  chief  conserving  influence  as  far  as 
they  continued  to  be  maintained.  Hence  it  followed,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  that  those  divisions  of  the  whole  com- 
munity which  mainly  subserved  political  ends,  found  con- 
tinually less  occasion  and  less  internal  motive  for  coming 
together ;  while  those  which  were  fundamentally  of  a  social 
character  maintained,  as  far  as  possible,  their  prescriptive 
customs,  with  all  the  traditional  observances  connected 
therewith.  That  is  to  say,  according  to  the  distinction 
made  at  the  beginning  of  our  study  (§  404),  the  clans  and 
the  tribes,  being  properly  political  organizations,  gradually 
became  dissolved  through  loss  of  inward  coherence  and 
through  outward  compulsion,  while  the  families  and  kins 
or  family  groups,  as  social  combinations,  retained  the  good 
old  custom  of  regular  gatherings  (e.g.  1  Sam.  xxi.  6,  29). 
All  this  is  simply  an  illustration  of  the  general  political 
disintegration  of  the  Hebrew  people  as  a  whole,  and  of  its 
several  political  factors,  the  tribes  and  clans  of  Israel 
(cf.  §  480). 

§  501.  But  it  would  be  a  grave  misrepresentation  of 
Hebrew  history  to  claim  that  the  changes  in  the  forms  and 
modes  of  life  of  the  people  just  described  were  a  real 
degeneration  and  deterioration.  Religiously,  no  doubt, 
the  effect  of  the  absorption  of  the  Canaanites  was  inju- 
rious. But  the  temptation  to  follow  the  gods  of  the  land 
was  present  in  any  case  (cf.  Josh.  xxiv.  19  f.) ;  and  both 
piety  and  moral  strength  were  advanced  in  the  struggle 
maintained  by  those  who  were  true  to  the  religion  of 
Jehovah.  From  the  political  point  of  view,  the  changes 
were  simply  unavoidable  and  in  the  order  of  evolution. 
We  have  seen  (§  483  £E.)  how  life  in  towns  or  large  vil- 


''Hl 


3'' 


« , 


T^ 


1  i 


IN 


',  ' 


i    ! 


130 


GKOWTH  OF   CITIES 


nooK  VII 


liiges  WHS  begun  and  fostered,  and  the  character  of  city 
institutions  formed.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  life  in 
fortilicd,  or  at  least  protected,  towns  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  the  princii)al  ends  of  settled  life  in  Canaan,  whether 
agricultural,  commercial,  or  industrial.  For  the  sheltering 
and  guarding  of  farm  property,  including  cattle,  the  prin- 
cipal asset  of  the  farmer,  the  night  patrols  of  unwalled 
villages  afforded  no  adetiuate  pi'otection  in  a  well-inhal> 
ited  country  of  mixed  i)0[)ulation.  Accordingly,  we  find 
that  the  landowners,  in  the  later  period  of  the  Judges  and 
thereafter,  dwelt  in  towns,  as  also  did  the  regular  farm 
labourers  (Ruth  ii.  4  ;  Jud.  xix.  16  ;  cf.  1  Sam.  x.  26).  The 
same  thing  is,  of  course,  true  of  other  employers  of  labour 
and  their  possessions.  While  life  in  large  cities  was  un- 
known (§  477),  the  city  ^  was  still  the  normal  residence  in 
the  times  that  followed  the  transition  period.  As  a  lule, 
each  man  was  regarded  as  belonging  to  one  city  or  another, 
and  so  enrolled  as  a  citizen  and  taxpayer. 

§  502.  The  breaking-up  of  the  tribal  system,  which  was 
involved  in  the  establishment  of  city  life  and  usages,  was 
therefore  in  important  respects  a  step  in  advance,  and 
was  a  necessary  preliminary  to  that  form  of  government 
which  alone  could  save  Israel  both  from  destruction  at  the 
hands  of  outsiders  and  from  strife  and  political  atrophy 
within.  Add  to  this  that  the  administration  of  justice, 
according  to  the  principle  of  propinquity  and  approximate 

1  The  city,  tliat  is,  in  the  larger  sense  of  the  term  (as  described  in  §  34 
and  38),  including  the  dependent,  unwalled  handets  and  pasture  grounds. 
Through  various  causes  tending  to  concentration  of  the  population,  par- 
ticularly the  vicissitudes  of  war  and  the  danger  of  attacks  from  l)ands  of 
rohbers,  the  villages  were  as  rapidly  as  possible  enclosed  within  walls, 
with  fortress  and  tower  ;  that  is,  they  became  cities.  The  number  of  • ' 
even  in  the  semi-pastoral  kingdom  of  .Tudah,  was  very  great,  as  > 

from  Sinacherib's  report  of  their  capture  (§  080  ;  cf.  2  K     "ii     ' 
estates  without  elaborate  defences,  such  as  that  of  Na  aui.  •  S, 

were  protected  by  the  retainers  from  ordinary  dangers.  los  often      .ed 

their  origin  in  any  stage  of  the  history  of  the  land  to  tlu-  advantu^es  of 
sites  by  fountains  or  groves,  defensible  heights,  etc.  St)me,  as  ^  mnria, 
wcri'  built  directly  by  the  rulers  of  the  time.     See  Nowack,  HA.  I.  p.  148  f. 


Cii.  IV,  §601       TUKND   OF    POLITICAL   rilANGE 


i;57 


numerical  groiqdnj^,  forcsliadowed  in  Kxndus  xviii.  (§  45')), 
was  iinintMisi'ly  advanct'tl  liy  aggicgation  of  sniall  Loninniiii- 
tics  apart  from  the  associations  (>f  tribal  life  and  government. 
The  elders  of  the  city  and  its  judges  at  the  gates  took  the 
place  of  the  family  or  tril)al  chiefs.  With  the  adjustment 
of  causes  arising  out  of  local  business  and  local  interests, 
the  only  solid  foundation  [)ossible  was  laid  for  the  division 
of  the  country  into  larger  administrative  and  judicial  dis- 
tricts. The  way  was  prepared,  moreover,  for  the  dominion 
of  a  sole  ruler  over  a  people  slowly  habituated  to  the 
restraints  of  a  legal  authority  founded  upon  inherent  i)rin- 
ci[)les  of  justice  (Dent.  xvi.  18;  xix.  15  ff. ;  xxv.  1  ff.), 
and  not  upon  the  imperfect  and  partial  prescriptions  of 
patriarchal  government,  with  its  preferential  rights  of  the 
family  and  the  clan.  The  reader  will  tind  it  instinctive 
to  note  that  while  the  ''Book  of  the  Covenant"  (§  474) 
deals  with  the  entire  portion  of  this  long  transitional 
period,  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  has  to  do  with  the  com- 
pleted results  of  the  process,  corresponding,  as  we  have 
seen,  to  government  in  cities  (Deut.  vi.  10;  xiii.  12  ff . ; 
xix.  1  ff. ;  xxi.  2  ff. ;  xxviii.  3,  10). 

§  503.  "  In  those  da}  s  there  was  no  king  in  Israel :  every 
man  did  that  which  was  right  in  his  own  eyes  "  (Jud.  xvii. 
(! ;  xxi.  25  ;  cf.  xviii.  1 ;  xix.  1 ;  and  §  50).  The  expression 
might  naturally  be  interj)reted  as  implying  a  condition  of 
anarchy  pure  and  simple.  It  really  alludes  to  the  personal 
independence  of  the  Hebrew  freeman  without  even  the  theo- 
lotical  restraints  of  the  monarchy.  Perhaps  a  clearei'  view 
of  some  aspects  of  social  and  civic  life  may  l)e  gained  from 
a  glance  at  the  home  and  estate  of  a  representative  Hebrew 
of  the  later  [)eriod  of  the  time  of  the  Judges. 

§  504.  The  subject  of  our  study  is  a  well-to-do  landed 
proprietor  of  Central  Palestine.  His  home  lies  within  the 
city  walls,  and  the  city  is  the  sphere  of  bis  social  life. 
Here  also  dwell  his  retainers,  except  those  immediately 
occupied  with  the  care  of  the  cattle  in  pasture  or  of  the 
fruit  trees,  for  whom  he  has  erected  booths  in  which  they 


t,  >• 


I 


jr 


•I 


1. 1  < 


1 1 


138 


A   HOUSEHOLDER   OF  THE   TIME 


Book  VII 


pass  the  night  and  are  armed  against  marauders.  This 
householder  is  a  devout  Israelite  and  begins  the  day's 
work  with  family,  or  rather  household,  devotions.  His 
means  have  permitted  him  to  engage  the  services  of  a 
Levite  as  domestic  priest,  who  naturally  also  officiates  in  a 
like  capacity  for  the  family  group,  of  which  the  present 
household  is  the  dominant  centre  (cf.  Jud.  xviii.  19). 
He  has  resorted  occasionally  to  the  central  sanctuary  at 
Shiloh,  but  has  lately  found  little  satisfaction  in  its  cere- 
monies and  sacrifices,  mixed  as  they  have  been  with  social 
festivities  and  indulgences  unfavourable  to  domestic  moral- 
ity.^ It  is  well,  he  thinks,  not  to  repair  thither  again  till  a 
time  of  reformation  comes.  It  is  not  long  since  the  sons  of 
Eli  guided  the  religion  of  Israel  and  administered  its  law, 
and  through  them  both  religion  and  justice  A\ere  outraged 
and  profaned.  But  this  evil  does  not  interfere  with  the 
religious  service  of  this  loyal  Israelite.  Whether  or  not  the 
yearly  feasts  are  duly  honoured  in  Shiloh,  a  still  stronger 
obligation  than  the}'  impose  rests  upon  him  to  observe  the 
stated  gatherings  of  his  clan  at  harvest  or  at  vintage  time 
or  at  sheep  shearing ;  and  in  these  reunions  religious  offer- 
ings hold  the  primary  place. 

§  505.  But  such  sacrifices  are,  so  to  speak,  only  an 
intensive  and  extensive  manifestation  of  the  sentiment  of 
devotion  which  claims  an  habitual  expression  in  the  daily 
worship  of  the  home.  No  table  is  spread,  no  food  i)ar- 
taken  in  common,  without  the  priestly  blessing  (1  Sam. 
ix.  13)  and  the  presentation  of  a  portion  to  Jehovah.    All 

1  Coinp.  Keble,  The.  Christian  Year,  Eighth  Sunday  after  Trinity, 
stanzas  5  and  U: 

"Thou  knowest  liow  hard  to  hurry  by, 
Where  on  tlie  lonely  woodland  road 
Beneath  the  inoonliplit  sky 
The  festal  warblini;s  flowed  ; 

"  Where  maidens  to  tlie  Queen  of  Heaven 
Wove  the  gay  dance  round  oak  or  palm, 
( >r  breathed  their  vows  at  even 
In  liVMins  as  soft  as  balm." 


Ch.  IV,  §  507      rUBLIC   AND   PRIVATE    WOIiSHIP 


139 


that  is  L'iiten  or  drunk  is  the  produce  of  Jehovah's  hind. 
To  him  the  fjrateful  tenant  makes  that  sort  of  acknuw- 
ledgment  which  is  at  once  most  expressive  and  most 
obvious.     But  our  typical    Hebrew  is  swayed  Ijy  rever- 


jll 


itude.     Th 


also  h 


ence  as  wen  as  graiiiuiie.  inis  sentiment 
manifestation  of  the  most  practical  kind.  I'rayer  to  him 
is  intensely  real;  it  is  an  ascertainment  of  the  will  of  the 
Deity,  and  that  with  regard  to  ordinary  affairs  of  life. 
"  Inquiring  of  God "'  is  asking  counsel  about  a  journey  or 
about  a  business  engagement,  just  us  by  a  clan  or  tribe  a 
decision  is  sought  in  the  same  fashion  about  a  projected 
migration  or  a  warli):e  expedition. 

§  500.  The  method  and  the  conception  are,  no  doubt, 
somewhat  rude  and  materialistic.  The  priest  gives  coun- 
sel for  Jehovah  by  reans  of  teraphim  and  the  epliod. 
But  some  symbol,  some  material  intervention,  is  invari- 
abl}'  associated  with  formal  Old  Testament  worship. 
And  wlien  the  tabernacle  with  the  Ark  and  the  cherubim 
is  not  accessible,  these  traditional  images  are,  at  least,  a 
stay  and  support  to  the  primitive  faith  of  the  trustful 
Israelite.  He  has,  however,  but  little  prophetic  teacli- 
ing,  and  to  him  and  his  contemporaries  is  denied  the 
spiritualizing  influence  of  the  united  worshij)  of  "the 
multitude  that  keep  holyday."  It  is  better  that  he 
should  worship  Jehovah  by  ephod  and  ter.aphim  than  that 
he  should  follow  a  ccmimon  fashion  of  liis  tribesmen  and 
adopt  the  rites  of  the  Baalim,  while  acknowledging  the 
supremacy  of  Jehovali.  For  now  the  old  order  has 
changed.  The  Canaanite  is  no  longer  the  natuial 
enemv  of  the  Israelite.  The  categorv  of  Hebrew  is  held 
to  cover  the  descendants  of  both  races.  Nor  can  it  well 
l)e  otherwise.  They  are  indistinguish.abh'  in  outward 
appearance.  They  speak  the  same  language;  achtpt  the 
same  (iodorgods;  meet  on  equal  terms  in  the  markets 
or  the  courts  of  justice. 

§  507.  If  we  follow  the  employments  of  this  citizen  of 
old  Palestine,  we  shall  be  struck  with  the  contrast  to  the 


lA 


If1| 
tit 


,; 


^ 


II 


>! 


B   ': 


ii 


I 


140 


MASTER  AND   SERVANTS 


Book  VII 


listless  monotony  of  the  life  of  the  present  time  in  that 
country.  The  earlier  part  of  his  busy  day  is  occupied 
with  the  oversiglit  of  his  household  and  property.  Very 
little  goes  on  in  his  well-regulated  establishment  without 
his  personal  attention  oi  supervision.  In  following  him 
about  his  estate  we  notice  with  some  surprise  that  he  is 
on  terms  of  easy  familiarity,  devoid  of  condescension, 
with  his  slaves,  male  and  female.  They  are  evidently 
regarded  and  trusted  as  members  of  his  own  family. 
Some  of  them  are  of  the  Hebrew  race  from  the  close 
neighbourhood.  With  one  of  the  female  slaves,  the 
daughter  of  a  friend  of  his  who  has  seen  better  days,  his 
eldest  son  has  contracted  an  equal  marriage.  But  the 
most  of  the  slavjs  are  descendants  of  Canaanites.  Their 
lot,  or  at  least  the  lot  of  their  parents,  was  at  first  a  hard 
one.  They  had  themselves  been  the  proprietors  of  all 
the  land  thereabout ;  and,  having  resisted  strenuously  its 
expropriation,  their  servitude  was  made  proportionately 
rigorous.  The  wars  of  the  invasion,  and  even  the  sub- 
sequent strifes  and  combats,  are  now,  however,  becoming 
fast  a  mere  matter  of  tradition,  and  the  only  difference 
between  the  status  of  the  two  classes  of  servitors  is  rather 
one  of  hereditary  sentiment  than  of  practical  discrimina- 
tion. Even  that,  too,  is  disapi)earing,  with  the  unifying 
influences  of  the  time  and  countrv,  and  of  the  dominant 
religion.  The  present  slave-holder,  at  any  rate,  makes 
little  distinction  between  the  two  classes  among  his  ser- 
vants. The  majority  of  them  are  now  reckoned  as  home- 
born,  since  tlie  more  immediate  ancestors  of  those  of 
remote  Canaanitisli  descent  were  naturalized  Hebrews. 
To  all  he  is  inclined  to  extend  the  privilege  of  optional 
release  at  the  end  of  six  years'  service.  All  are  admitted 
alike  to  the  religious  privileges  and  rites  of  tlie  household. 
He  is  thus,  perhaps  consciously,  ]>laying  an  important  part 
in  making  Canaan  more  surely  Jehovah's  land,  and  in  pre- 
paring the  way  for  tlie  freedom  and  tolerance  which  men 
have  learned  from  tlie  teaching  of  Israel  (§  G40  ft'.). 


J 


Cii.  IV,  §  509  MANAGER   AND   HOUSEWIFE 


141 


lal 


§  oOH.  Over  each  ilepaitment  of  the  work  of  his  estate 
a  competent  shive  is  set.  At  early  morning  the  master 
goes  the  rounds  to  see  how  all  are  progressing.  We 
know  how  he  talks  to  the  reapers  in  harvest  time.  After 
conferring  with  the  cliief  of  the  band,  he  passes  along 
amongst  the  ranks  and  salutes  the  workers,  using  not  tlie 
ordinary  salutation,  ''Peace  be  to  you,"  but  that  which 
reminils  them  all  of  their  connnon  supreme  protecto)-, 
"Jehovali  be  with  you."  Their  reply  comes  heartily  and 
promiith',  "Jehovah  bless  thee"  (Ruth  ii.  4).  Having 
his  home  in  a  small  city,  where  there  are  as  yet  no  guilds 
of  tradesmen,  except,  perhaps,  smiths  and  builders,  most 
of  the  needs  of  his  household,  for  the  uses  and  comforts  of 
life,  have  to  be  provided  by  the  labour  of  his  own  famil}' 
of  children  and  slaves.  Hence  he  himself  must  be  a 
jack-of-all-trades,  competent  to  superintend  the  making 
of  all  sorts  of  tools  for  the  farm,  and  furniture  and  uten- 
sils for  the  house,  the  building  of  solid  storehouses,  or 
the  construction  of  reservoirs  and  drains. 

§  .509.  Hardly  less  important  is  the  work  assigned  to 
the  women  of  the  household  —  the  preparing  of  food  and 
meals,  including  the  dailv  grinding  of  the  corn  and  the 
drawing  of  the  water,  weaving,  si)inning,  and  the  mak- 
ing of  ordinary  garments,  and  the  care  of  the  living 
ai)artments.  Just  as  the  house-master  directs  the  work 
of  the  male  servants,  so  the  more  domestic  duties  of  the 
women  are  under  the  vigilant  and,  perhaps,  more  exact- 
ing control  of  the  mistress.  She  herself  has  servants 
who,  in  a  certain  sense,  arc  her  own  slaves,  but  all  of 
whom,  like  the  wife  and  children  themselves,  are  'ilti- 
matcly  the  property  of  the  head  of  the  lutuse.  The  part 
played  by  the  mistress,  who  is  in  the  present  ease  the 
sole  wife,  is  one  of  great  responsil)ility  as  well  as  diffi- 
culty, especially  in  connection  with  the  delicate  relations 
and  i)ossible  social  complications  of  the  Hebrew  house- 
hold. She  has  not  as  wide  a  ranofe  f»f  anthoritv  or  of 
action  in  matters  of  outside  business  as  her  famous  sister 


•Ml' 

I 


I 


i 
'  I  '■ 


4  1 

f.l 


i  i    ! 


IN    ;^C 


r   I 


1  i 


14: 


ELDKR   AND   LOCAL  Jl'DCiK 


Book  VII 


of  the  southern  border- hind  (Prov.  xxxi.);  but  her 
(hjinestic  influence  is,  on  that  account,  perhaps  all  the 
steadier  and  stronger. 

§  olO.  The  public  activity  of  this  Israelite  of  the 
time  is  no  less  noteworthy.  Since  the  work  on  his 
estate  begins  with  daylight,  it  is  still  early  in  the  day 
when  he  leaves  his  fields  and  repairs  to  the  city  gate 
t(»  take  his  seat  among  the  "elders."  In  these  times  of 
unsettlement  it  is  a  heavy  task  that  is  laid  upon  the 
civic  ofiicials.  Disputes  about  trespass,  about  agree- 
ments of  sale  or  exchange,  ihe  boundaries  of  estates,  the 
title  to  property,  loans  and  [)ledges,  the  ownership  of 
slaves,  the  disposal  of  legacies,  the  protection  of  widows 
and  orphans,  and  the  choice  of  the  (/oel,  keep  c(miing  up 
in  turn  for  settlement  before  this  primitive  and  versatile 
tribunal.  The  litigants  from  the  city  proper  are  aug- 
mented by  a  constant  influx  of  disi)Utants  from  the  coun- 
try round  about.  In  addition  to  such  matters  of  inquiry 
as  arise  out  of  the  normal  conditions  of  life  in  the  district, 
man\'  othei"s  are  liable  to  occur  through  the  prevalence 
of  old  tribal  customs.  A  hearing  of  the  court  may,  for 
example,  be  interrupted  at  any  moment  by  the  clamour 
of  an  avenger  of  blood,  and  the  ap[)eals  of  his  victim 
as  he  enters  the  city  gates  (Josh.  xx.  4;  Dent.  xix.  12). 
So  the  case  in  hand  must  be  adjourned  till  this  more 
urgent  matter  is  temporarily  settled.  The  "elder"  of 
our  sketch  is  also  a  "judge"  (j$  487),  a  })osition  as  invid- 
ious as  it  is  honourable.  Among  a  people  with  such  a 
rudimentary  jurisprudence  frequent  appeals  and  references 
are  inevitable.  The  practical  difliculties  of  his  position, 
great  enough  in  tiiemselves,  are  aggravated  by  the  fact 
that  the  local  jjiiests  are  willing,  if  not  for  a  bril)e,  at 
least  for  the  v.'!iMlit  of  their  oflice,  to  give  an  oracle  tliat 
does  not  agree  with  his  unbiassed  judgment.  He  often, 
however,  linds  his  account  in  [jostponing  the  final  adjudi- 
cation until  his  friend,  tlie  great  judge  Samuel,  within 
whose  jurisdiction  lie  has  the  good  fortune  to  live,  coniea 


Cii.  IV,  ;<  r>io 


IIIXDKANCES    IN    OFFIClv 


14.i 


Upon  his  city  in  liis  regular  circuit.  In  the  frequent 
conversations  between  the  two  patriots  as  to  the  state 
of  public  affairs  in  Israel  generally,  they  always  end  by 
declaring  in  common  that  unless  a  "judge"  of  ampler 
powers  and  of  wider  comi)etency  is  soon  appointed  all 
gc»vcrnment  will  cease.  They  both  live  also  to  see  the 
establishment  of  the  kingdom. 


''i|fH*1 


Ill 


m 


M 


Tr 


i\ 


CHAPTER   V 


1''  '. 


\\ 


THE  MONARCHY 

§  511.  The  dividing  line  between  the  new  Israel  and 
the  old  (§  467)  was  the  much-wished-for  and  fondly 
idealized  institution  of  the  monarchy.  The  reader  is 
fully  aware  that  we  cannot  point  to  any  single  event  or 
movement  as  being  the  real  occasion  of  the  revolution. 
In  the  history  of  the  ancient  Semitic  world,  while  social 
changes  great  or  small  in  single  communities  went  on 
rapidly,  political  progress  was  very  gradual  (§  557). 
The  nature  and  the  occasions  of  the  external  events  that 
marked  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom  and  its  prog- 
ress for  the  first  three  centuries  have  already  been  sum- 
marized and  briefly  discussed  (§  195  ff.,  371  ff.).  Its 
internal  development  within  the  same  period,  which  we 
have  now  to  consider,  will  not  require  a  lengthy  exposi- 
tion. Now  that  the  fundamental  social  and  political 
institutions  have  been  dealt  with,  it  will  appear  that  the 
motives  of  the  succeeding  history  lie  more  upon  the  sur- 
face. They  have  in  fact  been  to  a  large  extent  already 
presented.  What  we  have  now  to  do  is  to  trace  out  two 
leading  lines  of  development  during  the  kingly  era. 
These  are  the  growth  and  regulation  of  the  military 
power,  and  changes  in  the  administration  of  civil  affairs. 

§  512.  The  development  of  the  military  i)ower  in 
Israel  was  naturally  dependent  upon  two  motives,  the 
necessity  of  defensive  and  the  disposition  to  offensive 
action.  After  the  settlement,  Israel's  permanent  policy 
was  plainly  marked  out  both  by  its  position  among  the 

144 


Cii.  V,  §  512 


THE    MILITAKY   iSPlIilT 


145 


surrounding  nations  and  by  the  counsels  of  its  wisest 
leaders.  It  was  simply  to  retain  the  territory  which  it 
had  succeeded  in  colonizing  and  to  secure  each  trilje  in 
its  possession.  Aggression  outside  of  these  limits  was 
only  warranted  Avhen  waged  for  self-preservation.  Yet 
frequent  wars  with  border  nations  were  inevitable. 
Unsuccessful  wars  put  Israel  upon  the  defensive  until 
the  invaders  were  expelled.  Successful  wars  were,  as 
a  rule,  followed  by  offensive  action  to  prevent  retalia- 
tion on  the  part  of  a  recuperated  enemy.  On  the  whole, 
Israel  engaged  comparatively  little  in  aggressive  warfare. 
Up  to  the  end  of  the  Judges  a  defensive  attitude  was  the 
only  one  possible.  In  the  later  times  the  rule  was  broken 
chiefly  by  conflicts  with  Philistines  and  Edomites.  Israel 
was  not  distinctively  a  warlike  people.  A  settled  policy  of 
foreign  conquest  was  seldom  pursued  except  towards  Edom, 
whose  territory  was  coveted  for  reasons  already  familiar 
to  us  (§  236,  254,  209).  The  era  of  David  and  that  of 
Jeroboam  II  and  Uzziah  were  quite  exceptional.  But 
this  was  due  not  so  much  to  an  unambitious  and  quies- 
cent temper  on  the  part  of  rulers  or  people  as  to  the 
circumstances  of  the  nation  already  spoken  of,  and  the 
influence  of  the  religious  movements  inaugurated  by 
the  Prophets.  The  ploughshare  and  the  pruning-liook 
came  more  naturally  to  the  hand  of  the  Hebrews  than 
the  sword  and  the  spear.  And  yet,  after  all,  there  were 
very  few  grown  men  among  them  in  the  formative  periods 
of  their  history  who  had  not  some  training  in  the  use 
of  arms.  Domestic  feuds,  tribal  quarrels,  irruptions  of 
marauders,  were  frequent  enough  in  the  intervals  be- 
tween the  invasions  of  the  Philistines  or  Syrians  until 
the  Assyrian  came  upon  the  land.  Then,  at  last,  peace 
was  forced  on  all  the  petty  combatants  of  the  west,  but 
their  mutual  antipathy  became  converted  into  a  surly 
antagonism  towards  their  common  oppressor.  In  the 
insurrections  that  occasionally  resulted  thereafter  the 
Hebrews   did  rather   more   than   their   share,   and   thus 


M 


t 


■  t*'. 


-I 

m 


I 


HI 


[tf 


T 


140 


MILITIA   AND    WEAPONS 


Hook  VII 


U 


i-  ■  M     !  i 


r. 


H 


tliuir  weapons  were  never  allowed  to  rust  from  lack  of 
use. 

§  ol3.  The  efficiency  of  a  national  militia  depends 
upon  its  ability  not  only  to  match  the  enemy  upon  the 
field,  but  to  protect  non-combatants  and  the  property  of 
the  citizens.  In  the  tribal  state  of  any  peo[)le  tliere  is 
little  fixed  pro[)erty  to  defend,  and  there  is,  in  conse- 
([uence,  no  military  profession.  Every  man  is  a  warrior 
upon  occasion,  just  as  he  is  a  hunter  or  tent-maker. 
When  an  attack  or  a  repulse  is  undertaken,  the  whole  of 
the  lighting  force  is  called  out  at  once,  the  women  and 
children  and  movable  property  being  left  in  the  rear  or 
in  a  place  of  concealment.  A  single  decisive  defeat  may 
mean  the  dispersion  of  the  tribe.  The  survival  of  Israel 
between  Egypt  and  Canaan  is  a  proof  not  simply  of  the  in- 
dividual courage  of  the  triljesmen,  but  also  of  its  advance 
be3'ond  rudimentary  tribalism  (cf.  §  441  f.,  408).  With  the 
acquisition  or  control  of  property  in  land  the  conditions 
change  essentially.  Just  as  the  formation  of  a  "state," 
in  the  true  sense,  is  thus  made  possible,  so  a  system  of 
national  defence  is  rendered  necessary.  The  militia 
still  embraces  all  the  men  of  fighting  age  and  capac- 
it}',  but  both  its  training  and  its  distribution  are 
changed. 

§  514.  In  the  desert  every  warrior  was  slinger,  archer, 
and  spearman.  As  citizens  of  Canaan  the  several  roles 
were  separated  for  service  in  the  field,  even  though  most 
of  the  men  of  the  sjjear  might  also  be  dexterous  with  the 
sling  and  the  bow.  Special  schooling  with  these  imple- 
ments of  war  followed  as  a  matter  of  course  (cf.  Jud. 
XX.  16).  Swords,  rarer  yet  not  unknown  in  the  nomadic 
stage  (Gen.  xlviii.  22),  became  a  regular  arm ;  and  soon 
the  full-armed  warrior  appeared  at  the  head  of  his  trooj) 
with  helmet  and  shield.  At  length  heavy-armed  infantry 
could  be  counted  on  as  a  regular  portion  of  the  armies  of 
Israel,  though  the  bulk  of  the  levies  were  always  provided 
with  merely  the  spear,  the  bow,  or  the  sling. 


Cii.  V,  §  [>IJ 


GUOWTII   OF  THE   SYSTEM 


147 


§  515.  We  have  observed  that  up  t«>  the  close  «)f  the 
Jiuljres  Israel  was  in  no  true  sense  a  state.  It  was  not 
united,  not  cnnnpaet,  not  organized.  Only  with  the 
slowly  established  king(h)in  eanie  the  consciousness  of 
inward  unity  and  of  national  power.  The  sense  of 
brotherhood  and  of  eoniradeshi[t,  which  had  helil  them 
toirether  as  invaders  and  colonists,  was  fast  dving  out, 
till  it  was  reawakened  by  the  more  urgent  conviction  of 
im[)ending  conunou  disaster  at  the  liands  of  the  Philis- 
tines. With  such  a  reviving  patriotic  sentiment  went 
hand  in  liand  the  evolution  of  a  national  defence.  With 
tiie  sense  of  unity,  promoted  by  the  aUmdonment  of  the 
tribal  traditions,  there  gradually  came  an  appreciation 
of  the  value  of  the  kingdom  to  all  who  were  called  by 
the  name  of  Israel.  The  invasions  of  the  I'hilistines 
and  their  virtual  occupation  of  the  centre  and  heart  of 
Israel,  instead  of  <jueiiching  the  newly  enkindled  hope, 
only  served  to  heighten  and  deejien  it  and  make  of  it  a 
sacramental  ins[)iratit»n.  (iillMa  could  not  efface  the 
memory  of  Jabesh-Ciilead.  When  the  prestige  of  Saul's 
early  successes  had  been  eclipsed  by  tlie  gloom  of  his 
mysterious  and  melancholy  inactivity,  liis  heroic  son, 
tlie  magnanimous  Jonathan,  ruled  the  spirits  of  the 
l)eo[)le  by  liis  kinglincss  of  soul  no  less  than  by  his 
daring  valour  and  his  brilliant  acliievements  on  the 
Held.  Jonathan  with  his  shield-lnjarer  at  Michmash 
tyi»ifies  and  personities  the  spirit  of  Israel  aroused  from 
its  sluml)er.  Then  there  came  Ijefore  the  peo})le  the 
more  fascinating  and  commanding,  thougli  less  pure  and 
uttble,  personality  of  David.  Ilis  genius  for  war  and 
dilihmiacy  found  scope  in  commending  his  own  Judaic 
kingdom,  estranged  though  it  had  Ijeen  from  tlie  sympa- 
thies of  the  most  of  Israel,  to  the  deference  and  attach- 
ment of  the  central  and  northern  tribes.  Kven  the 
unscrupulous  and  worthless  Al>sal<»m  gained  his  tem- 
porary sway  over  a  rigiitly  discontented  i)eople  l)y  quali- 
ties which  fitted  well  with  popular  notions  of  kiugshii). 


:> 


,V 


i! 

I, 


l^i 


if 


148 


IRREGULAR   MILITIA 


Book  VII 


^',1 


lII 


ii 

it; 


1^ 


U 


f 


Thus  the  peitjonal  ([luilities  of  the  successive  lepresentJi- 
tives  of  royality  united  with  the  sense  of  niitionul  need 
to  establish  faith  in  the  monarchy  and  devotion  to  the 
nionarchs.  And  these  were  essential  conditions  of  a  per- 
manent military  system.  The  safety  of  the  state  rests 
upon  a  standing  defence.  The  stability  of  the  kingdom 
implies  the  sacredness  and  the  security  of  the  person  of 
the  king.  Hence  the  development  of  the  military  system 
of  the  Hebrews. 

§  510.  We  may  distinguish  three  periods  or  stages  in 
the  growth  of  the  armies  of  Israel.  At  first  there  was  no 
(question  of  a  standing  army.  The  methods  of  the  camp 
were  followed,  though  on  a  larger  scale,  in  the  early  times 
of  the  settlement.  After  the  conquest  was  fairly  com- 
plete the  troops  whicli  for  years  had  encamped  here  and 
there  throughout  the  country  gradually  disbanded.  It 
was  yet  long  before  war  was  to  become  a  science  or  even 
an  art  among  the  Hebrews.  As  they  settled  down  to 
pastoral  and  agricultural  life,  there  was  less  need  to  con- 
centrate forces  for  general  defence.  The  development  of 
local  interests  still  further  discouraged  the  training  of  a 
militia.  Sometimes,  even  in  the  sorest  need,  as  in  the 
days  of  Shamgar  and  liarak  (§  478  f.),  it  was  difficult  to 
unite  the  scattered  defen<lers  of  the  struggling  communi- 
ties. Sometimes  suitable  weapons  were  hard  to  get. 
How  pressing  was  the  need  is  shown  by  the  virtual  dis- 
arming of  the  people  by  the  victorious  Philistines  just  at 
tlie  establishment  of  the  kingdom  (1  Sam.  xiii.  10  ff.). 
At  best  the  armies  that  Avere  raised  during  the  whole 
period  of  the  Judges  were  hasty  levies,  composed  of 
straggling  troops,  tumultuous  and  ill-disci[)lined,  each 
man  often  tighting  for  his  own  hand.  At  best  they  were 
a  collection  of  local  companies  under  local  leaders. 
Organized  movements  of  large  battalions  were  a  thing 
unknown.  It  seemed,  in  fact,  much  easier  to  set  in 
battle  array  tribe  against  tribe  or  section  against  section, 
than  to  muster  any  large  body  of  men  to  repel  a  foreign 


Cm.  V,  Sol8      lJK(iINNIXGS  OF  A  STANDING  AUMV 


149 


invader.     All   this   was  gradually  changed,    it  is   true, 


upon  tlie  establishment  of   the 


ar 


chy.      Yet  it 


was 


mom 

long  before  the  discipline  and  tactics  of  a  professional 
soldiery  could  be  seen  on  a  large  scale  in  any  part  of 
Palestine.  The  higliest  military  art  of  those  days  was 
first  learned  by  the  Aranueans  of  Damascus  from  their 
Assyrian  conquerors  two  centuries  after  the  time  of  Saul. 
The  Damascenes  Avere,  in  fact,  the  only  great  military 
power  of  the  West-land  till  the  days  of  the  Seleucidie. 
Israel  had  its  own  share  of  military  renown,  and  far  more 
than  its  share  of  patriots  and  heroes.  But  its  achieye- 
ments  belong  more  to  the  records  of  personal  yalour  and 
devotion.  The  lieroic  age,  with  its  triumphs  of  individ- 
ual prowess  and  its  spirit  of  unconquerable  independence, 
lingered  long  in  the  memory  of  Israel,  and  has  filled  out 
a  stirring  chapter  in  the  world's  annals  of  patriotism. 

§  517.  When,  at  length,  Saul  was  made  ''king"  over 
Israel,  the  second  stage  of  the  military  history  of  Israel 
was  begun.  His  first  care,  after  tlie  relief  of  Jabesh- 
Gilead  and  the  customary  dispersion  of  the  levy,  was 
to  select  a  permanent  guard  of  three  thousand  men,  and 
station  them  in  two  divisions  in  positions  specially 
exposed  to  the  assaults  of  the  Philistines.  Naturally 
he  and  the  heir  to  the  throne  at  first  divided  the  com- 
mand between  them  (1  Sam.  xiii.  2  ff.).  We  also  learn 
that  Saul  made  it  his  aim  to  secure  for  service  in  the 
field  any  man  who  distinguished  himself  by  valour  or 
heroic  spirit  (1  Sam.  xiv.  52).  A  numerical  principle 
of  organization  was  also  followed  (1  Sam.  xvii.  18; 
xviii.  13;  cf.  viii.  12).  A  general  and  captains  were 
appointed  for  active  service,  among  whom  the  heroes  of 
the  time  had,  doubtless,  their  own  following  severally. 
A  standing  force  was  now  recognized  as  a  necessity,  but 
the  soldier  was  still  every  man  capable  of  l)earing  arms, 
and  the  time  of  a  military  class  or  guild  was  yet  to  come. 

§  518.  The  third  and  final  stage  was,  however,  soon 
arrived  at.     David  chose  for  himself  a  body-guard  of  six 


iiv 


u 


mm 


m 


\^ 


H 


;  1 


i  I 


150 


FKW    HORSES  AND  ClIAUIOTS 


Book  VII 


Imiuhetl  nit'U.  This  band  hiul  very  piobiihly  its  begin- 
nings in  the  company  of  lefiigees,  onthiws,  and  broken 
men  who  gathered  around  him  in  the  wilderness  of 
Judali.  We  thus  see  that  in  its  composition  it  struck 
through  the  tradition  of  htcal  or  tribal  selection,  while  in 
its  potential  motive  it  illustrates  the  saving  i)rinciple  of 
devotion  to  the  [lerson  of  the  king  (§  olo).  The  [msses- 
sion  of  tliis  l)ody  of  household  troops  usually  turned  the 
scale  thereafter  in  disputes  about  the  royal  succession. 
At  tlie  same  time  the  general  militia  wfis  not  annulled. 
Its  organization  was  rather  maintained  and  extended 
(2  Sam.  xviii.  1;  2  K.  i.  0;  xi.  4,  19).  In  the  time 
of  Jeroboam  II  the  principle  of  tribal  representation 
seems  to  have  been  entirely  done  away,  and  each  city 
contributed  its  larger  or  smaller  contingent  (  Amos  v.  3; 
cf.  §  484  f.).i 

§  519.  A  standing  militia,  necessary  as  it  was  to  mili- 
tary greatness  and  prestige,  was  always  hard  to  maintain 
in  Israel.  No  better  proof  of  this  is  needed  than  the  fact 
that  horses  and  chariots,  which  were  indispensable  to  a 
complete  Oriental  army,  were  as  a  rule  but  meagrely 
rei)resented.  Solomon,  averse  though  he  was  to  foreign 
wars  (§  206),  expected  to  assure  the  integrity  of  the  king- 
dom of  David  by  the  establishment  of  a  cavalry  and 
chariot  service.  His  inflated  revenues  sustained  for  a 
time  the  heavy  expenses  of  the  armament  (cf.  1  K.  x. 
28  f.),  but  the  collapse  of  this  part  of  his  establishment  is 
attested  by  the  loss  of  the  dependent  states  (§  209).  The 
great  schism  limited  forever  the  military  possibilities  of 
either  kingdom.  Indeed,  the  comparative  poverty  of  the 
Hebrew  territory  of  itself  practically  settled  the  question. 
Chariots  were  more  in  demand  than  mounted  horsemen, 
and  we  may  assume  that  at  least  after  the  time  of  David 
they  were  never  entirely  absent.  According  to  the  report 
of    Shalmaneser   II    (§    228)    Ahab    had  two    thousand 

1  Some  of  the  above-mentioned  alons  with  other  interesting  features  of 
military  life  iu  Israel  are  well  exhibited  by  Nowack,  HA.  I,  350  ff. 


Cii.  V,  jl  520 


THE   MKUCKNAia*  TKunps 


151 


chariots,  but  his  succe.ssnrs  hail  to  siilnuit  to  an  eiionnous 
reduction  (-  K.  vii.  l:{;  xiii.  7  ).  and  Sainaria  at  its  cajiture 
seems  to  liave  had  hut  fifty  (Voh  I,  p.  4*2*)).  Ilezekiah  of 
Judah  was  ridiculed  hy  the  legate  of  Sinacherib  for  his 
hick  of  war-horses  and  horsenien  (2  K.  xviii.  2:]).  In 
brief  it  may  be  said  tliat  it  was  only  in  times  of  special 
warlike  enterprise  that  any  consideraltle  force  of  cavalry 
could  be  put  in  the  field. 

§  /)20.  A  powerful  standinir  arni}-  was  difticult  to  main- 
tain for  other  reasons  besides.  The  centre  and  mainstay 
was  of  course  the  royal  body-guard  (§  T)!"  f.)-  With  them 
no  doubt  began  the  system  of  a  regular  commissariat  and 
fixed  wages.  The  levies  of  the  militia  appear  to  have  pro- 
vided their  own  sup[)lies  (cf.  1  Sam.  xvii.  17  f.)  or  to  liave 
been  i)rovisioned  1)V  rich  landholders  ( 2  Sam.  xvi.  1  f. ;  xvii. 
21  f . ;  cf.  1  Sam.  xxv.  o  ft'.).  Now  these  mercenary  trooits 
were,  as  in  all  Oriental  kingdoms,  largely  fcMeigners,  or 
taken  from  subject  states  of  uncertain  allegiance  to  Israel, 
as  for  example,  the  ''Cretans  and  Philistines"  (§  11»2). 
The  system  of  armed  retainers  of  royalty  was  discouraged 
by  the  best  Israelites  on  several  grounds.  In  the  first 
place,  it  tended  to  foster  arbitrary  power.  Again,  it  was 
apt  to  be  made  the  instrument  of  insurrection  (cf.  1  K. 
xvi.  0).  In  the  next  place,  it  depreciated  the  patriotic 
spirit  of  the  people.  In  the  lieroic  times  every  Israelite 
was  a  volunteer  soldier,  ready  with  spear  and  l)ow  or 
any  handy  weapon  for  the  defence  of  Jehovah's  land. 
National  deliverance  or  predominance  if  procured  tinough 
the  valour  of  hirelings  was  a  cheai)ening  of  loyalty  of  the 
rankest  kind  and  the  beoinninir  of  national  degradation.' 
The  idea  of  personal  res[)onsibility  for  the  defence  of 
Israel  was  retained  till  the  latest  times.  It  was  not, 
moreover,  favourable   to  a  [)rofessional  soldiery,  that  the 

•  How  nobly  loyal  a  soldier  of  the  iruanl  might  lip,  even  one  of  foreiun 
(loscent,  is  shown  in  the  course  of  tiie  pathetic  story  oi  the  betrayal  and 
assassination  of  I'riah  the  liettite  (2  Sam.  xi,  C  ff.).  But  such  men,  of 
course,  speedily  became  true  Israelites  (§  550). 


ti'S 


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): 


152  SAUL'S  GOVEHXMKNT  TKANSITIONAL       Hook  VII 

well-to-do  proprietors  kept  up  the  good  old  custom  (Gen. 
xiv.  14  f.)  of  marching  to  the  Held  at  the  head  of  their 
armed  retainers.  To  the  stout  yeomanry  of  the  planta- 
tions as  well  as  the  hardy  shepherds  and  huntei-s,  chariots 
and  horses  must  always  have  been  an  outlandish  kind  of 
fighting  material,  besides  being  rather  clumsy  in  their 
movements  upon  the  rugged  terrain  of  Palestine.*  That 
the  Prophets  so  frequently  inveighed  against  hoi-ses  and 
chariots  was  partly  due  to  the  consideration  already  men- 
tioned. They  had  also  the  additional  motive  of  dissuad- 
ing the  people  from  their  fatuous  schemes  of  alliance 
with  Kgyi)t,  whence  the  supply  of  war-steeds  was  usually 
obtained  (c.//.  Isa.  xxxi.  1),  and  from  building  up  a  strong 
secular  power  generally,  which  would  turn  the  heart  of 
tiie  nation  from  trust  in  Jehovah. 

§  ')21.  We  pass  on  now  to  the  consideration  of  the 
governmental  and  judicial  changes  brought  about  by  the 
kingdom.  We  observe  at  the  outset  the  very  striking  fact 
that  the  fust  tin-ee  kingi,  Saul,  David.  Solomon,  represent 
three  distinct  stages  in  the  development  of  the  monarchy. 
We  notice,  moreover,  tliat  the  period  whicli  they  occui)y 
contains  germinally  all  subse([uent  decisive  national 
changes.  The  government  of  Saul  was  merely  experi- 
mental and  preliminary.  His  conception  of  the  kingdom 
was  that  it  was  a  kind  of  hereditary  dictatorshi[)  (cf.  v?  ol). 
His  administration  had  none  of  the  pom})  and  j>restige  of 
royalty.  Nor  was  it  guaided  and  stayed  up  by  a  cabinet 
of  court  oflicials  responsible  only  to  the  king,  whirh  is  the 
strength  and  supi)ort  of  every  Semitic  monarchy-  This  of 
itself  weakened  his  dynasty  and  cleared  the  i)ath  for  a 
popular  pretender.     His  lack  of  political  talent,  his  incon- 


'  So  tlic  Syrians  of  Damascus,  who  wcrt-  always  faiiiiil  for  tholr  cavalry 
and  c'liarioli'crs  (cf.  a^iaiii  \Uv  n-port  of  Slialiuaiu'Sfr  II,  <i  228)  found  ijuil 
in  sjiitc  of  these  they  were  (h'feated.  on  "tlif  iiills"  by  tlie  footmen  of 
Isiatl  I  1  K.  XX.  1.  •_*!.  2;''..  2.'i\  Naiurally  tli.\  ascribed  their  defeaf  to 
'•  I  lie  jiods  of  till'  iiilis,*"  liut  in  »o  doing  they  implied  thai  they  had  iiad 
an  uiil''ll  task  during  tiie  battle. 


Cji.  V,  §  522 


DAVID'S  COURT   OFFICIALS 


163 


sistencies,  his  alienation  of  the  priesthood,  his  easily  roused 
animosity,  the  "madness"  of  his  jealousy,  estranged  him 
and  his  government  from  the  sympathies  of  the  i)eople, 
and  paralyzed  the  new  institution  in  its  earliest  infancy. 
His  reign  marked  the  great  transition  in  the  history  of 
Israel  as  a  nation  and  in  the  development  of  Hebrew  soci- 
ety (§  467).  It  swayed  helplessly  backward  and  forward. 
and  leaned  equally  upon  the  past  and  the  future.  Israel 
during  its  tragic  progress  was  like  a  wanderer  who  has 
struck  into  a  promising  path,  and  who  halts  in  utter 
bewilderment  at  a  sudden  jtarting  of  the  ways  ;  then  night 
falls  upon  him,  and  he  sinks  down  in  confusion  and  de- 
sjiair.  But  the  return  of  morning  to  Israel,  after  the 
gloom  and  terror  of  Gilboa,  revealed  at  least  some  things 
clearly.  The  past  could  not  be  retraced  :  the  kingdom 
was  still  the  only  hope  and  security.  And  a  worthy  king 
was  at  liand,  wliose  advent  1  nought  to  the  nation  some- 
thing like  clearness  and  order. 

§  ;V22.  Under  Saul  the  new  and  the  old  had  been 
liopclcssly  intertwined.  Daviil  disengaged  the  new  from 
the  old,  and  made  it  the  order  of  the  tlay.  He  was  a 
great  king  in  many  things,  but  in  none  more  than  in  this, 
that  although  an  opportunist,  lie  wa>.  no  innovator.  He 
simply  gave  the  kingdom  a  eiianee  to  survive.  Though 
he  orjiani/.ed  it  for  the  first  time,  he  reallv  established  no 
institutions  new  to  the  Semitic;  world  or  unfamiliar  to 
Israel  among  the  nati<tns.  Througji  him  the  monarehy 
began  to  fulfil  its  fuiietions.  While  Saul  never  dejiuted 
another  to  do  anything  which  he  thought  lie  eou'd  exeeute 
for  himself,  the  ollicers  of  David's  court  were  appointed  to 
merely  obvious  (Uities,  and  were  really  the  most  element iiry 
fum^tionaries  of  a  well-estal)lished  monarchy.  Siuli  were 
a  "recorder,'  or  rather  a  secretary  of  slate:  a  "scrii»e," 
or  court  annalist;  one  "over  the  tribute,"  or  rudimen- 
tarv  linance  minister  (cf.  S  liO.o.      It  was  inevitable  that 

ft  ^  <!' 

tliese,  as  well  as  the  other  ofVicials  of  the  general  govern- 
nient,  should  be  his  creatures,  and  that  they  should  less 


A 
.1 


It 


r 


II 


»( 


154 


DAVID'S    I'OLR'V   AND   DKFECTS 


Book  VII 


uiul  less  re[)if.sent  the  people  t'njin  whose  ranks  they  weie 
diiiwii.  But  this  was  inherent  in  the  very  niitiDe  of  the 
kingdom,  at  least  t»f  the  only  type  of  kingchjin  of  which 
the  Hebrews  were  capable,  nu)st  independent  and  demo- 
cratic thouj^di  they  were  of  ali  the  Semites  (§  t)8). 

§  628.  Such  a  centralizing  system  is  the  strength  of 
the  king,  l)ut  the  bane  of  the  i>eo})le.  David's  ruling 
motive,  iiowever,  was  the  uiibuilding  of  Jehovah's  people 
rather  than  his  own  aggrandizement.  He  strenuously 
sought  to  conciliate  all  the  tribes  r)f  Israel  without  dis- 
tinction. II is  public  faults,  at  least,  were  not  those  of 
the  typical  Oriental  despot.  Even  the  census  which  he 
undertook  (>^  205),  and  which  was  so  thoroughly  made, 
was,  from  the  point  of  view  of  mere  statesmanshiii,  rather 
connncndablc  tban  otherwise.  It  was  rightly  op[»osed 
by  the  politic  .loab  (2  Sam.  xxiv.  8),  who  foresaw  the 
discontent  of  the  ])coiile  as  indicated  in  the  popularity  of 
the  pretender  Absalom.  For  the  census  was  undertak  n 
under  military  ausjiices,  and  was  supposed  to  have  iP. 
view  both  the  conscription  of  every  fiveholdei-  (cf.  1  Sam. 
viii.  11  f.)  and  a  scbeme  of  general  taxation.  It  was 
opposed  l;y  the  ]tro|thet  of  Jehovah  a[)parcntly  because 
of  wi'.at  it  presaged,  lieing  the  convenient  basis  of 
tax  tion  by  system,  it  foreshailowed  a  whohjsale  exaction 
of  the  peo|»lc's  wealth,  and  a  spoliation  of  Jehovah's 
poor;  in  sliort,  tiie  virtual  enslavement  of  the  nation 
(1  Sam.  viii.  14  IT.  ).  If,  therefore,  the  administration 
of  David  was  faulty,  it  was  so  mainly  because,  according 
to  Sanuiel's  unsparing  characterization,  the  kingh'  rule 
in  Israel  nnist  needs  tend  to  sellish  despotism.  His 
conduct  in  tbc  matter  of  I'liah  the  Ilettite  was  an  indi- 
cation lit  the  l)iutalizing  tendency  of  sinldenly  ac(|uire(l, 
unlimited  pdwcr.  Wbat  a  light  it  throws  upon  the 
possibilities  <if  evil  in  an  Oriental  courti  To  David  it 
seemed,  until  his  moral  awakening,  an  assertion  of  his 
mere  pi'rsonal  prerogative,  lint  bow  cleaily  did  the 
prophet,  who  st(»od  for  the  indei»endenee  as  well  as  the 


Cii.  V,  §524     SOLOMON'S  GOVERNMENT  A  FAILUKE 


155 


siinctity  of   the    Isiaelitisli   home  aiul  household,   ie\eal 
the  far- reaching  responsibilities  of  the  kingly  olhce! 

§  524.  What  was  germinal  and  incipient  in  David's 
measures  of  government  worked  itself  out  under  Solomon. 
The  most  meritorious  feature  of  the  general  policy  of 
Solomon,  whijh,  however,  was  mainly  incidental,  was 
his  attitude  towards  outsiders  (§  o')2).  Hut  the  only 
praiseworthy  public  act  recorded  of  this  king,  who  was  so 
renowned  for  mental  acuteness  and  wisdom  of  speech,  was 
the  Imilding  and  endowing  of  the  Temple.  All  the  rest 
of  his  othcial  deeds  that  we  know  of  were  those  of  a  per- 
sonally ambiticms,  self-aggrandizing  tyrant.  Especially 
short-sighted  was  the  impoverishment  of  the  other  tribes 
for  the  sake  of  his  own  tribe  of  Judah.  The  perpetual 
abridgment  of  his  own  dynastic  authority  was  among 
the  least  of  the  misfortunes  brought  ui)on  Israel  by  these 
and  other  high-handed  measures  (§  :20(>).  The  prosperity 
induced  by  the  stimulation  of  trade  and  manufacture  was 
forced  and  artificial,  and  therefore  shoit-lived.  Perhaps 
the  most  stupendous  jtractical  folly  of  this  grand  vio- 
nanpte,  who  "never  said  a  foolish  tiling,  and  never  did  a 
wise  one,"  was  his  attempt  to  make  a  commercial  nation 
of  Israel — a  feat  which  no  one  has  as  yet  sui'ceedcd  in 
accomplishing  for  inland  Palestine,  and  it  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed never  will.'  Indeed,  if  the  attempt  ha<l  been 
feasible,  it  would  have  l)een  the  lujdoing  of  Israel,  whose 
mission  it  was  through  its  own  poverty  to  make  many 
rich.  Possiblv  it  never  occurred  to  Solomon  that,  unless 
the  country  could  piiy  by  its  own  resources  or  eainings 
for  the  horses  and  chariots,  ivory  an<l  apes,  peacocks  and 


4 


|i   i 

I        ! 


'  Tlie  coniiiiprrial  naviiiatioii  of  tlic  Kcd  Sea  from  a  snbjuiratod  .scajiort 
of  Etlom,  Hi)  often  aUfiiijiti'tl  by  Nrat-l,  was  a  (iiiitc  different  eiiteri)ri.s« 
from  tin-  great  achievements  of  tlie  I'lio'iiiciaii  eiiirs.  The  Klanitic  pilf 
was  too  far  from  the  centrn  of  Israel's  activity.  If  iiie  Hed  Sea  port  had 
lieen  a  colony  of  a  trading  nation,  the  case  would  have  hcen  differ<iit. 
Ami  in  fact  the  oidy  successful  husiness  carried  nn  fmm  that  locality  was 
done  by  PlKenician  vesselH,  and  was  always,  when  luidertaken  by  Israel, 
of  brief  diuation.     ( 1  K.  ix.  M  fi. ;  cf.  §  07,  200,  21'.,  209.) 


i     h 


i       I 


I      Wl 


I 


I    • 


156 


THE   KINGDOM   BEFORE  THE   SCHISM       Book  VII 


saiulal-wood  (1  K.  :c.  22,  28  f.),  which  he  iiuj)oited  so 
hivislily,  it  would  soon  l)ecoiue  poorer  than  it  was  when 
lie  received  it  from  his  wise  old  father.  And,  as  a  matter 
(»f  fact,  it  was  not  a  very  wealthy  or  i)rusperous  land 
which  Solomon  left  to  his  like-minded  son  and  successor. 
§  iylo.  But  the  ecf^nomic  follies  of  Solomon  were  not 
,  the  greatest  of  his  crimes  against  his  country.  What 
wa  of  more  lasting  consequence  was  the  example  he  set 
of  gaudy  extravagance,  of  unbridled  sensuality,  of  luxuri- 
ous self-indulgence  at  the  cost  not  merely  of  the  people's 
money,  but  of  their  dearly  bought  traiujuillity  and  peace. 
How  dilferent  Israel  had  now  become  within  the  century 
of  the  new  regime  I  What  a  gulf  lay  between  Saul  re- 
turning to  his  farm  and  oxen  after  the  relief  of  his  l)e- 
leaguered  countrymen,  and  Solomon  on  his  throne  of  gold 
and  ivory,  with  his  troops  of  gilded  courtiers  and  foieign 
courtesans,  and  the  mass  of  his  sul)jects  on  the  eve  of 
revolt  I  The  great  schism  was,  after  all,  not  merely  a 
political  but  a  moral  necessity,  and  with  a.t  s  disastrous 
consequences  really  the  lesser  of  two  evils.  Israel  had 
been  rent  in  twain  by  Solomon  before  the  revolt  was 
proclaimed  in  Sliechem. 

§  o2tt.  Before  the  death  of  Solomcm  two  l)road  conclu- 
sions about  the  monarchy  must  have  been  drawn  by  the 
responsible,  thoughtful,  middle-class  peo[)le  from  whose 
lauks  came  the  Prophets  of  Israel.  It  was  clear,  on  the 
one  liiuid,  that  the  kingdom  was  necessary,  and  on  the 
other  hand,  thiit  it  had  l)een  for  its  chief  purpose  a 
lanu'Uliibh'  I'ailure.  It  had  [»ievented  the  conq)lete  dis- 
inte'nation  and  destruction  of  the  Ilubrew  settlement. 
But  it  could  not  avail  to  bind  the  tribes  into  (»ne  lionio- 
jfciicnus  nation.  There  never  had  beei;  a  real  union  ol 
sentiment.  Nor,  as  it  would  a[ti»ear,  was  there,  for  an}' 
considerable  time  at  least,  a  uniform  administration  of 
the  government  over  the  whole  people.  The  strength 
and  almost  entire  sucees.^  of  Absalom's  rebellion  testi- 
fies to  the  smouldering  spirit  of  discontent   thioughout 


C'li.  V,  §527     DISABILITIES  OF  THE  NOUTIIEHX  KINGDOM     157 

the  greater  part  of  Israel  during  the  reign  of  David. 
That  Sohmion  treated,  through  residentiary  oHieers,  the 
tribes  north  of  Jerusalem  as  a  sort  of  subject  people  is 
to  be  fully  explained  only  when  we  assume  that  they, 
unlike  the  Judaic  section,  supported  the  administration 
very  reluctantly.  This,  then,  we  may  be  assured  of, 
that  the  union  of  tlie  tribes  was  never  fully  realized  in 
any  form  after  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  not  even  under 
the  kingdom  of  David,  glorious  as  it  was.  A  third  fact, 
also,  we  must  not  forget.  Though  outward  political 
union  was  but  briefly  and  precariously  realized,  the 
Hebrew  people  were  still  one  and  continued  so  to  be, 
and  that  in  a  sense  in  which  unity  cannot  be  alTliiincd 
of  any  other  divided  ancient  people.  They  were  all  tiie 
servants  and  claldreu  of  Jehovah  (cf.  §  378).  Hence- 
forward, even  in  their  separation,  the  national  devi'lo[>- 
nicnt  of  both  kingdoms  nuist  go  forwaid  upon  the  same 
ideal  lines,  and  be  judged  by  the  same  ideal  standards. 
Thougli  parted  forever,  they  were  still  brotiiers  and  neigh- 
bours, with  the  same  intellectnal  and  spiritual  inheritance 
and  with  common  political  traditions. 

§  o27.  In  the  foregoing  sections  I  Iiave  tried  to  show 
that  the  tv»-o  main  tribal  aggregations  of  Israel  never 
really  eoalescc'd.  It  has  also  been  shown  how  near  they 
came  to  coalition,  and  why  they  failed  to  uniti'  com- 
j)lctely.  AVe  are  now  pre[)ared  to  understand  why  the 
t\\(i  kingdoms  diverged  so  witlcly  in  their  subseijuent 
history,  in  s[»ite  of  their  close  internal  allliuitics  and 
their  fre(iucut  interaction.  The  inoi'e  obvious  and  out- 
ward dirt'crences  bflwecii  them,  so  marked  in  their  st'ji- 
arale  desiinie«H,  have  bci-n  already  snlVicifntly  dttailed 
in  con"ei'tion  with  the  narrative  sketch  (^^  liTl  IT. ;  cf. 
§  37-  IT.).  It  is  now  nia<le  plain  that  the  internal  causes 
ar»'  e([inilly  influential.  It  is  clear  that  what  is  known 
as  Northern  Israel  never  really  came  under  monarchical 
fjovernmeiit  ntider  ti»e  earliest  kings,  at  lea-^t  in-t  in  the 
-ame  degree,  and  scarcely  in  the  same  sense,  as  did  the 


m 


■  ^ 


;.  'w 


168 


thp:  ciiikk  gkievaxces 


Book  VII 


*! 


■A 


', 


more  favoured  kingdom  of  David.  The  advantage  thus 
eoiiferred  ui)on  the  smaller  division  was  never  lost.  The 
kingdom  of  the  "  Ten  Tribes "  soon  came  to  greater 
strength  and  outward  prosperity;  but  it  did  not  attain 
to  a  fixed  constitution  until  the  germs  of  dissolution 
had  already  been  planted  in  the  body  politic.  What 
gave  Judah  its  stability,  its  cohesiveness,  its  endur- 
ance, its  name  and  influence  in  liistory,  was  almost 
as  much  its  political  advantage  as  its  religious  supe- 
riority. 

§  528.  The  social  and  governmental  development  of 
the  two  kingdoms  proceeded  pretty  much  on  parallel 
lines,  as  we  would  expect  from  tlieir  similar  antece- 
dents and  common  traditions  and  origin.  But,  as  we 
have  seen,  their  positions  at  the  starting-point  were 
immensely  different.  The  central  and  especially  the 
northern  people  were  politically  far  in  the  rear.  Their 
revolt  and  election  of  a  new  king  brings  this  fact  out 
into  clear  relief.  These  were  desperate  measures,  re- 
sorted to  only  under  the  direst  necessity.  The  feeling 
was  at  bottom  not  so  nuich  one  of  local  jealousy.  Nor 
was  it  due  to  attachment  to  the  house  of  Saul,  which 
was,  at  the  death  of  Solomon,  little  more  than  a  pathetic 
tradition.  Neither  was  the  revolt  wholly  prompted  by 
the  desire  on  their  part  to  have  a  king  of  their  own  sec- 
tion. There  were  in  reality  several  different  sections  of 
Israel  concerned  in  the  movement,  and  the  choice  of  an 
Ephraimite  shows  that  tlie  sentiment  of  brotherhood  was 
stronger  tiian  local  interest  or  passion.  Moreover,  they 
were  (luite  contented  with  tlic  principle  of  hereditary 
succession.  This  was  the  only  kind  of  kingship  known, 
or  even  possible,  to  them'  (§  ol),  and  that  they  would 


1  It  nmat  not  Ih'  inferred  from  the  freqiieut  ohauKes  of  dynasty  in  the 
nortlicrn  as  cnntrasft-'l  with  tlie  soutlicrn,  kinaiom  (§  27H  that  the 
liereditary  I'liiM  pie  was  lield  less  reliji;iously  in  the  former.  The  revolu- 
tions there  «»nly  illustrate  further  the  unsettleinent  and  disiiitt- ution  of 
the  tribtB  of  Israel  north  (.a  Ueiijaniin.  tlie  pendant  of  Judali      The  sue- 


' 


Cii.  V,  §  5-20 


POLITICAL  BACKWARDNESS 


150 


have  been  content  with  a  congenial  representative  of  the 
titniily  of  David  is  shown  by  their  adhesion  to  the  banner 
'  of  Absahjni.  Their  most  pressing  grievance  was  that 
they  had  no  chance  of  impartial  consideration  from  the 
house  of  David. 

§  ')2\).  Hut  this  was  not  all.  The  desperation  of  tlie 
seceders  was  due  not  simply  to  the  fact  tliat  they  had 
been  neglected  and  misgoverned,  but  that  they  had  l)een 
practically  without  any  government  that  transcended 
the  tribal  organization  of  their  fathers.  We  know  that 
among  the  Western  Semites  kingly  lule  did  not  extend 
far  beyond  the  influence  of  the  court  officials  and  the 
dependent  nol)les,  unless  where  conquest  brought  about 
a  forcible  union  (cf.  §  29  ff.).  Tlie  administrative  dis- 
tricts erected  by  Solomon  might  have  served  to  unify 
the  tribes,  if  they  had  not  been  devised  for  purposes 
of  taxation,  military  conscription,  and  statute  labour. 
That  is  to  say,  while  the  energies  and  resources  of  the 
peojjle  of  the  norlli  were  being  employed  to  l)uild  up 
Judah  and  Jerusalem,  and  to  strengthen  and  develop  a 
central  aristocracy  in  the  south,  their  own  local  interests 
and  institutions  w(ue  neglected.  The  king  was  repre- 
sentee- not  so  mucii  by  civil  governors  and  m.igistrates 
as  by  tax-gatherers  and  garrisons.  In  short,  the  most 
of  Israel  remained  domestically  and  internally  pretty 
nuich  as  it  was  in  the  time  of  the  Judges,  while  its  ex- 
perience of  the  monarchy  had  served  mainly  to  harass,  and 
distract  it  beyond  endurance.  Tliis  was  the  crisis  of  the 
great  schism.  The  unsettlement,  the  strife,  the  misery, 
of  the  siicceeding  forty  years  were  but  the  working  out 
of  the  effort  to  cctnsolidate  nu  the  basis  of  the  nionarcliv 
(cf.  s^  37")).  They  were  the  throes  of  the  birth-time  of  a 
new  order.  Politically  and  socially,  Northern  Isiael  was 
no  further  advanced  on  the  accession  of  Omri  (Jj  212)  than 

cession,  from  the  very  bcirlnninii,  dcvnlvpcl,  nf  roursr.  \ipnn  the  pldost  son, 
vinless  si't  aside  l)y  tlie  will  of  the  kinniy  hoiiso-fathcr  i§  428)  ;  and  this 
canon  also  was  as  valid  in  the  one  kingdom  as  in  the  other, 


M 


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100 


ADMINISTRATIVE  DIVISIONS 


Book  VII 


Judiih  was  at  the  enthronement  of  David,  his  nearest 
jmrallel  and  his  great  niochd.  This,  also,  must  bo  num- 
bered among  the  achievements  of  David,  that  he  phiced 
Ju(hili  politically  a  century  ahead  of  the  rest  of  Israel. 

§  530.  The  great  problem  of  domestic  government, 
already  partly  solved  in  Judah,  was  not  essentially  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  pressed  upon  the  tribesmen  in  the 
time  of  the  Judges.  New  divisions,  based  upon  many  dif- 
ferent sorts  of  conditions,  chiefly  geographical  and  phys- 
ical, had  arisen.  These  had  now  taken  the  place  of  the 
Iwundaries  which  had  been  allotted  to  the  colonists  of 
the  several  tribes.  These  districts,  larger  or  smaller,  were 
arranged  for  purposes  of  military  conscription,  of  tax-col- 
lecting, and  above  all  of  judicial  trials  and  religious  con- 
vocations. Their  administration  naturally  challenged  the 
attention  of  the  kings,  just  as  they  had  taxed  the  energies 
of  the  "Juclges."  We  cannot  say  in  detail  what  these 
divisions  were.  The  greater  and  the  lesser  alike  must 
have  fluctuated  continually  in  the  northern  kingdom,  at 
least  till  after  the  era  of  Omri.  We  have  already  tried  to 
get  a  glimpse  at  the  larger  movements  which  effiiced  the 
old,  largely  theoretical,  tribal  partition  (§  272,  275).  But 
it  is  particularly  interesting  to  note  at  this  point  that 
at  the  death  of  Saul  it  was  not  the  "  tril)es  "  that  rallied  to 
the  support  of  his  son  Ish-baal  against  David,  but  Abner 
"made  him  king  over  Gilead  and  over  the  Asherites^  and 
over  Jezreel  and  over  Ephraim  and  over  Benjamin"  (2  Sam. 
ii.  0).  From  this  statement  we  lejirn  that  only  the  tribes 
nearest  Judah  were  distinguished  by  name,  while  for  the 
outlying  members  territorial  designations  were  employed 
in  comprehensive  groupings  ^  This  fact  alone  may  suggest 


J  So  read  for  "  Ashurites."  The  termination  instead  of  tlic  mere 
tribal  name  shows  that  what  the  writer  had  in  view  was  the  people  clus- 
tering around  "  Asher." 

2  The  people  of  Israel  north  of  Jezreel  were  "  Asherites."  "  Oilead" 
comprehended  Israel  east  of  the  .lordan.  "  .le/reel  "  stands  for  Issacliar 
and  West*  rn  Manasseh.    Dan  and  Simeon  had  long  lost  any  tribal  .signili- 


Cm.  \'.  ;}  oM 


PRINCES   OF  THE   rUoVIXCES 


i«;i 


the  grave  difliciilties  of  governmtMit  and  the  praetieal 
issues  to  1)0  faced.  What  David  and  Sitloinon  did  and 
failed  to  do  in  the  way  of  general  organization  we  have 
lately  ohserved  (§  522  rt'.).  That  much  [»rogress  was 
made  during  the  forty  years  of  semi-anarehy  it  is  hard  to 
])elieve.  What  was  done  was  to  weld  more  firmly  together 
those  communities  which  here  and  there  were  accustomed 
to  act  together  in  times  of  trial.  With  the  attainment  of  a 
stable  central  government  under  Onui,  it  may  l->e  assumed 
that  the  administrative  divisions,  at  least  those  contained 
within  K[)hraim,  Manasseh,  and  I.s.sachar,  were  established 
by  royal  e<lict. 

5j  531.  Now  wo  have  only  to  add  one  class  of  oflicials 
to  thotie  who  had  already  been  reeogni/.ed  in  the  uiiml' 
formative  preceding  period  ( |;  4M  ff.).  In  addition  to  the 
city  j'lilers  and  local  judges  we  meet  now  with  the 
"princes"  of  the  larger  districts.  Distinct  allusions  to 
them  are  rare,  but  we  lind  them  plainly  leferred  to  in  the 
reign  of  Omri's  successor  as  the  "  [)rinces  of  the  prov- 
ince.s*'  (1  K.  xx.  14  ff.).  It  appeai-s  from  the  references 
that  each  of  these  lieutenants  of  the  king  made  his  own 
muster  of  troojjs  for  the  defence  of  tlie  kingdom,  ami  that 
these  were  preferable  as  a  forlorn  hope  to  the  body-'niard 
of  the  king  (cf.  §  o'20).  Their  other  main  functions  are 
not  difticidt  to  determine.  They  "judged  "  eases  of  appeal 
from  the  local  elders  and  judges,  and  passed  on  the  most 
im[)ortant  to  the  king  himself.  They  looked  after  the 
raising  of  the  revenue,  through  sulwrdinate  district  agents. 
They  took  care  of  the  lands  of  the  priests  and  the  sacred 
shrines.  Ihey  regulated  the  religions  convocations  of  the 
centres  of  worshij).  They  were,  wc  may  [tresume,  i'l  many 
cases  favourites  of  the  king,  holding  life  appointments  foi' 
service  to  him  or  to  the  state.  At  tirst  they  were  often 
the  rei)resentatives,  by  descent  or  election,  of  the  old  chiefs 

ranco  they  oupo  possessed.  Wlien  the  names  of  sin^'le  tribes  are  used 
hereafter  in  tlic  Ohl  'l"estaii<.eiu,  except  in  j;eneai«>i.'ie;4l  references,  the  usage 
is  political  or  territorial,  not  gentile  in  the  strict  sense. 


r 


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I'M 

1            «! 

1 

I 

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1, 

1 

r 

; 

i 

! 


V 


169        RESrONSIUILlTY  FOR  EVILS  IX  THE  STATE     Itouu  Nil 


of  tribes  or  dans.  About  them,  as  about  the  king  himself 
in  his  capital,  clustered  and  throve  a  caste  of  nobles,  often 
alluded  to  as  "chiefs"  and  "heads'"  of  the  people,  who,  by 
virtue  of  their  landed  possessions  and  their  growing  bands 
of  retainei-s,  exercised  a  sort  of  feudal  authority,  judicial 
as  well  as  military  and  industrial. 

§  532.  We  are  at  length  prepared  in  some  measure  to 
understand  the  social  as  well  as  the  political  condition  of 
Israel  in  the  times  most  fully  known  to  us.  From  the 
days  of  Ahab  onwards  the  inner  life  of  the  people  is  pre- 
sented to  us  witli  realistic  power  and  detail,  parti}'  through 
the  [)ractical  homely  discourses  of  the  Prophets,  and  partly 
because  of  the  interest  given  to  the  internal  history  of  both 
kingdoms  by  the  proi)hetic  way  of  looking  at  society  ami 
politics  (J^  14,  214,  29r>  ff. ).  Tlie  story,  as  it  unfolds  itself, 
is  henceforth  less  of  a  compilation  or  series  of  reminis- 
cences, and  moie  of  a  contemporary  portraiture.  Through 
it  we  obtain  a  nearer  ac<iuaintance  with  the  times  and  the 
lives  an<l  manners  of  the  people. 

s^  533.  Our  previous  inquiries,  imperfect  as  they  have 
been,  have  furnished  us  with  at  least  an  outline  of  the 
domestic,  social,  and  political  system  of  Israel.  We  have 
learned,  moreover,  to  see  not  merely  that  certain  qualities 
and  institutions  were  peculiar  to  the  Semites,  and  more 
especially  to  the  Hebrews,  but  also  that  in  all  these  three 
regions  of  the  early  history  there  was  a  notable  progress 
or  develoi)ment.  We  are  now  struck  by  certain  salient 
features  of  both  the  narrative  and  prophetical  picture  of  the 
condition  of  Israel  in  the  ninth  and  eighth  centuries  before 
our  era.  We  observe  that  while  on  the  religious  side  there 
was  a  prevailing  degeneration  with  occasional  attempts  at 
reform,  there  was  in  public  life,  and  in  that  vitally  impor- 
tant region  where  social  and  private  conduct  and  motive 
intersect  and  interact,  a  steadily  increasing  moral  laxity 
and  degradation.  If  we  ask,  who  are  aimed  at  in  the 
bitter  denunciations  and  the  stern  reprobation  that  point 
the  moral  of  the  tale,  we  naturally  assume  that  the  whole 


(11,  V,  §  o;54 


AHSOLlTI><M   IN   ISUAEL 


10.1 


of  the  people  are  transgressore  of  the  divine  law  and  the 
L'onseciuent  victims  of  the  divine  justice.  IJnt  a  brief  con- 
sideration shows  that  this  is  an  error.  Just  as  at  an  early 
stage  of  this  fatefid  era  there  were  seven  thousand  men 
who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  B.aal,  so  there  was  never 
huking  a  remnant  who  kept  their  faith  with  .leliovah  and 
their  brethren.  Who,  then,  are  the  incriminated  objects 
of  the  divine  displeasure?  Who  were  those  that  wore 
undermining  the  state  and  imperilling  the  very  existence 
of  Israel?  It  was  the  leaders  of  society,  the  powerful,  tlie 
wealthy,  the  noble.  The  afllicted  and  the  needy  are  never 
arraigned  like  the  judges  and  the  rulers  of  the  people. 
How  these  men  of  influence  gained  their  position  and  how 
they  used  their  power  are  (piestions  vital  to  the  under- 
standing of  the  most  critical  periods  of  Old  Testament 


^  ')84.  The  inner  changes  in  the  spirit  and  life  of  Israel 
were  due  in  large  measure  to  corresponding  changes  in  the 
relations  of  the  governed  and  governing  classes.  Yet  after 
the  time  of  David  there  was  no  change  in  the  political 
constitution  or  in  the  popular  conceptions  of  the  rights  of 
rulers  of  an}-  grade  or  function.  In  practice  as  in  theory 
the  king  was  always  absolute.  We  iiave  manifold  repre- 
sentations in  the  Old  Testament  of  kingshi[>  both  actual 
and  ideal,  and  no  higher  conceptions  of  a  good  king  have 
ever  been  given  to  the  world  than  those  which  are  pre- 
sented in  the  proverbial  wisdom  of  the  Hebrews.  But  no 
constitutional  obligations  were  laid  upon  any  one  of  the 
rulers,  nor  any  restriction  put  upon  his  arbitrary  authority.^ 
Whether  they  could  most  fairly  be  symbolized  by  the  olive, 
the  iig,  tile  vine,  or  the  brand)le  of  Jotham's  famous  para- 
ble (Jud.  ix.  0  ff.),  their  good  or  their  bad  conduct  alike 
was  the  expression  of  their  own  sweet  will.  Kings,  strictly 
speaking,  did  not  need  advisers.  Young  princes  like  Absa- 
lom or  Kehoboam  might  .seek  counsel.  Ohler  nioiiarchs 
were  a[)i)arently  independent  of  it:  none  were  bound  t(» 

i  See  Note  1  in  appendi.\. 


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164 


KINGS,  PRIESTS,  AND  PROPHETS 


Book  VII 


defer  to  it.  These  considerations  bring  out  in  clearest 
light  the  much  misunderstood  warnings  of  the  first  king- 
maker. Samuel  told  his  people  that  if  they  would  have  a 
king  they  would  make  the  choice  at  their  peril,  and  his 
gloomy  prognostications  of  "  the  manner  of  the  king  that 
should  reign  over  them  "  (1  Sam.  viii.  9  ff.)  were  justified 
on  the  simple  ground  that  unchecked  power  tends  to  make 
men  despots  and  unlimited  opportunity  to  make  them 
unscrupulous.  Perhaps  the  wonderful  thing,  after  all,  is 
not  that  the  evil  kings  of  Israel  and  Judah  should  have 
been  so  numerous,  but  that  there  should  have  been  any 
kings  at  all  of  a  high  and  noble  type. 

§  535.  There  was,  of  course,  one  supreme  sanction 
whose  tremendous  obligation  should  not  fail  to  solemnize 
and  humble  any  one  of  Israel's  kings,  —  the  duty  of  defer- 
euce  to  Jehovah  as  his  vicegerents  and  servants.  And  in 
^.ruth  the  sphere  of  religion  formed  an  exception  to  the 
rule  that  the  king  did  not  brook  control  or  even  seek  for 
counsel.  The  king  resorts  to  the  priests  and  prophets 
for  divine  oracles,  and  even  performs  sacrifices  himself. 
For  Jehova!  is  above  the  king,  and  the  prophet  or  priest 
who  communicates  the  oracles  is  by  the  nature  of  the  case 
superior  in  his  own  proper  sphere.  But  this  exceptional 
relation  served  in  its  frequent  abuse  only  to  heighten  the 
arrogance  of  the  monarch  and  to  increase  his  chances  of 
augmenting  his  prerogative.^  Through  it  he  was  tempted 
to  make  tributary  to  him  the  whole  priestly  class  and  the 
guilds  of  the  prophets,  whose  support  would  not  only  add 
to  his  prestige,  but  further  his  schemes  of  personal  and 
political  aggrandizement. 

§  536.  We  have  thus  incidentally  come  upon  a  class  of 
officials  formally  independent  of  the  king,  and  yet  morally 
responsible,  like  him,  for  the  government  or  misgovernment 

1  The  earlier  kings  who  undertook  upon  occasion  to  offer  sacriflces 
themselves,  were  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case  not  absolutely  depe!\dent 
on  the  priesthood  for  their  knowledge  of  the  will  of  Jehovah.  After  the 
priestly  class  became  more  distinct  and  powerful  they  are  found  in  both  of 


) 


Cn.  V,  §  537         THE   RULERS  AND  THE   KINGS 


1G5 


of  the  country.  If  we  seek  for  other  examples,  let  us  recall 
what  has  been  said  (§  486  ff.)  of  the  orders  of  men  in  Israel 
who  bore  a  share  in  the  administration  of  its  internal  affairs 
—  the  city  elders,  tlie  local  judges,  the  princes  of  the  prov- 
inces. It  was  from  these  classes  that  the  "rrlers  of  the 
people"  were  mainly  drawn.  A  series  of  vital  questions 
at  once  suggest  themselves.  How  far  were  these  rulers 
independent  of  the  king?  What  opportunities  did  they 
have  for  working  upon  the  masses  of  the  people  ?  What 
effect  ixad  their  conduct  and  practice  upon  the  relations  of 
society  and  upon  its  well-being,  as  well  as  upon  their  own 
status  and  influence  ?  Upon  these  and  similar  matters  we 
have  at  least  inferential  evidence.  And  we  shall  see  that 
the  priests  and  prophets  who  held  a  position  traditionally 
more  inviolable  and  august  than  even  that  of  the  king, 
were  more  than  equalled  in  their  influence  upon  the  cur- 
rent history  of  Israel  by  these  heads  of  society,  whose 
position  was  maintained  through  the  royal  sufferance 
backed  up  by  prescriptive  and  conventional  toleration. 

§  537.  As  to  the  relations  between  the  "rulers"  and 
the  king,  it  must  be  remembered  in  the  first  place  that 
there  was  always  an  aristocracy  in  Israel,  and  that  it  was 
the  leading  men  who  are  almost  exclusively  to  be  taken 
into  account  among  the  factors  of  the  political  and  social 
life  of  the  people.  At  firet  these  were  the  heads  of  the 
clans  or  tribes,  then  the  elders  of  the  city,  and  besides, 
when  great  estates  had  been  founded,  the  more  powerful 
landnolders.  It  is  such  as  these  who,  with  the  chiefs  of 
the  hundreds  and  the  thousands  that  were  enrolled  for  the 
national  defence,  are  the  "  elders  of  Israel,"  who  took  part, 
for  example,  in  the  elevation  of  David  to  be  the  sole  reign- 
ing monarch  (2  Sam.  iii.  17),  who  after  a  solemn  covenant 

the  kingdoms  of  Israel  to  be,  as  a  rule,  quite  subservient  to  royal  influence. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Prophets,  who  were  naturally  more  independent 
than  the  priests,  though  liable  also  to  subservience,  retained  their  honor 
and  self-respect  in  greater  measure,  and  became,  upon  the  whole,  increas- 
ingly a  saving  factor  in  the  state,  as  the  priesthood  went  on  degenerating. 


1  i 


C-  U' 


i  III 


! 


■    ill 


m 
u 


166 


KINGS  AND  THEIR   SUBJECTS 


Book  VII 


with  him  anointed  him  king  in  Hebron  (2  Sam.  v.  3).  Such 
also  at  a  later  date  were  the  people  of  "Israel"  who  in- 
stalled Rehoboam  (1  K.  xii.  1),  and  the  "congregation," 
necessarily  a  representative  assembly,  who  elected  and 
crowned  Jeroboam  I  (1  K.  xii.  20).  Naturally  also  it 
was  they  who  were  active  in  the  revolutions  by  which 
alone  it  was  possible  to  replace  an  intolerable  occupant 
of  the  throne  by  one  more  to  the  liking  of  the  dominant 
party.  They  were  accordingly  the  main  moral  stay  and 
support  of  the  king  under  a  stable  and  popular  dynasty. 

§  538.  We  have  seen  that  the  king's  rule  was  absolute. 
But  since  these  local  authorities  stood  primarily  for  the 
people  at  large,  encroachment  upon  their  rights  would  not 
be  lightly  attempted  by  any  monarch.  It  was  also  his 
policy  to  retain  their  countenance  and  good-will.  Their 
liberty  of  action  among  the  common  people  was,  however, 
specially  secured  by  the  king's  preoccupation  with  his  own 
affairs.  In  Oriental  monarchies  it  is  rare  that  the  king's 
interest  extends  much  beyond  the  limits  of  the  capital,  his 
hunting-grounds  and  garden,  his  summer  and  winter  resi- 
dences. The  typical  rulers  of  Assyria  and  Babylon  were 
exceptions  (cf.  §  117, 180).  Among  kings  of  Israel,  David, 
Solomon,  and  Uzziah  were  conspicuous  for  their  wider 
views.  Apart  from  their  function  as  the  supreme  court  of 
appeal,  their  activity,  even  in  the  cases  of  the  most  ener- 
getic, rarely  brought  them  into  contact  with  the  sphere  of 
the  local  magnates.  The  average  monarch,  in  time  of  peace, 
would  be  satisfied  with  hearing  daily  the  reports  of  his 
secretary  and  treasurer,  especially  the  latter,  and  then 
betaking  himself  to  the  amusements  which  he  regarded  as 
the  end  of  life,  or  at  least  of  the  life  of  a  prince.  Finally, 
a  cordon  of  courtiers,  respectable  in  numbers  at  least, 
effectually  cut  him  off  from  habitual  association  with  the 
mass  of  the  people.  There  was  thus  apt  to  be  little  royal 
interference  with  the  personal  designs  of  local  rulers. 
Even  the  acts  of  the  favourite  official,  the  district  tax- 
collector,  were  little  regarded,  unless  he  failed,  by  extor- 


Cii.  V,  §  538 


KINGS  AND  THEIR  AGENTS 


167 


tion  or  otherwise,  to  raise  the  amount  of  revenue  for 
which  he  and  his  men  were  responsible.  On  the  other 
hand,  an  intriguing,  selfish  king  found  acceptable  tools 
and  accomplices  in  like-minded  leaders  of  the  people 
(Hos.  vii.  3). 


Id 


^!i 


I 


!«'  k 


!!■ 


IT 


CHAPTER  VI 


i'i 


it 


a 


SOCIETY,   MORALS,   AND  KELIGION 

§  539.  With  these  general  facts  in  view,  let  us  now 
follow  in  imagination  the  social  changes  of  the  Hebrew 
people  (luring  the  centuries  of  their  life  in  Palestine. 
From  the  very  outset  there  were  found  the  three  social 
degrees  which  appear  in  every  rudimentary  state,  even  in 
communities  of  nomads.  These  may  be  indicated  in  gen- 
'eral  terms  as  nobles,  common  men,  and  slaves.  For  pur- 
poses of  rough  comparison  we  may  think  of  the  three  old 
Saxon  grades  of  eorls,  ceorls,  and  serfs,  or  more  vaguely 
still  of  the  feudal  distinctions  into  gentry,  freemen,  and 
villeins.  Most  fundamental  was  the  division  in  ancient 
Semitic  society  between  master  and  slave.  To  this  we 
must  call  particular  attention  on  account  of  its  importance 
in  the  evolution  of  the  Hebrew  people.  The  position  of 
slaves  in  a  fully  constituted  household  has  already  been 
described  (§  405).  The  vicissitudes  of  national  life  which 
induce  and  perpetuate  slavery  bring  us  to  the  verj"^  root 
and  fibre  of  the  social  system  of  Israel.  In  general,  the 
distinction  between  master  and  man  is  that  the  former 
owns  property,  while  the  latter  tends  it  for  him  in  ex- 
change for  protection  and  sustenance.  Thus  as  the  nature 
of  property  changes,  the  character  of  servitude  changes 
with  it.  In  the  purely  nomadic  life  even  the  most  power- 
ful sheioh  could  employ  but  fcAV  slaves.  Accordingly 
Semitic  nomads  addicted  themselves  more  to  slave-trading 
than  to  slave-holding.  Servitude  upon  a  small  scale,  and 
of  the  simple,  genial,  patriarchal  type,  was  a  regular  feature 

168 


Cii.  VI,  §  540         ENSLAVEMENT  OF  CAPTIVES 


169 


of  tribal  life.  But  in  the  ordinary  household  of  the  camp 
neither  room  nor  occupation  could  be  found  for  many 
domestic  servants.  Among  an  agricultural  population 
servile  labour  was  nearly  everywhere  a  convenience,  and 
upon  a  large  proportion  of  estates  a  necessity. 

§  540.  Other  causes  co-operated  strongly  with  the  de- 
mand for  labour  to  promote  and  extend  slavery.  One  of 
them  was  the  necessity  of  providing  for  captives  taken  in 
war.  Among  the  Semites  of  the  historical  ages  the  slay- 
ing of  prisoners,  which  had  been  the  custom  in  days  of 
primitive  savagery,  was  done  away  except  in  the  cases, 
unfortunately  quite  frequent,  of  hereditary  feuds  and 
religious  crusades,  or  of  prolonged  resistance  or  rebellion. 
The  alternative  was  to  put  the  captives  to  useful  work. 
In  the  pastoral  stage  of  society  the  limited  choice  among 
kinds  of  labour  united  with  other  important  causes  to 
hasten  the  manumission  of  the  bondmen  and  their  assimi- 
lation to  the  tribesmen.  On  the  other  hand,  the  conditions 
of  settled  life  furnished  ready  employment  for  prisoners. 
The  necessity  of  utilizing  these  human  chattels  even  tended 
to  promote  agricultural  and  industrial  enterprise.  That 
this  predisposing  cause  operated  on  a  large  scale  during 
the  recuperative  periods  of  Israel's  early  settlement  goes 
without  saying.^  An  occasion  of  the  extension  of  bond- 
service was  found  in  the  practical  working  of  the  system 
of  domestic  vassalage.  In  general,  tributaries  were  regu- 
larly reckoned  as  "  slaves  "  of  their  suzerains  (^e.g.  Gen.  ix. 
26  f. ;  2  K.  xvi.  7  ;  xvii.  3 ;  xxiv.  1)  ;  and  not  infrequently 
they  at  length  became  personal  retainers  and  servitors.  A 
special  and  very  important  form  of  this  relation  is  shown 

1  Thus  agriculture  must  have  been  vastly  promoted  in  the  Lowland 
from  the  time  of  David  onward  by  the  labour  of  Philistine  bondmen  taken 
during  the  frequent  wars  on  the  western  border  of  Judah.  To  a  less 
extent  the  same  would  be  true  of  the  Israelitisli  settlements  east  of  the 
Jordan.  It  was  thus,  no  doubt,  that  David  (1  Chr.  xxvii.  25  ff.)  and 
Uzziah  (2  Chr.  xxvi.  9  f.)  were  so  well  enabled  to  carry  on  their  extensive 
plantations,  both  of  them  having  annexed  by  force  large  portions  of  the 
most  productive  portions  of  Philistia. 


3     V 


\ 


T 


170 


ENSLAVEMENT  OF  THE   POOR 


Book  VII 


1^ 


.'li. 


in  the  process  of  absorption  and  assimilation  by  which 
Palestine  became  wholly  Hebraic.  Great  numbers  of  the 
Canaanites,  including  entire  setticments  (Jud.  i.  30  £f.), 
were  made  tributary  to  the  Hebrew  invaders,  instead  of 
being  put  to  death.  Of  course  the  tribute  could  not  be 
long  continued,  and  so  we  are  told  in  general  terms  that 
"  when  Israel  was  become  strong  they  put  the  Canaanites 
to  task-work  "  (Jud.  i.  28).  The  final  step  was  taken  when 
members  of  this  servile  population,  who  had  long  been 
indistinguishable  from  their  fellow-labourers  of  Hebrew 
descent,  after  submitting  to  the  rite  of  circumcision  and 
the  cult  of  Jehovah,  here  and  there  and  everywhere  be- 
came adopted  into  Israelitish  families.  They  thus  lost 
their  racial  identity  as  completely  as  the  Kenites  and 
Kenizzites  had  done  among  the  clansnen  of  Judah  (§  186). 
§  541.  Finally,  servitude  was  greatly  extended  by  the 
self-subjection  of  impoverished  or  unfortunate  freemen. 
Sons  and  daughters  of  struggling  families  on  small  prop- 
erties were  frequently  sent  into  service  during  the  early 
times  of  the  settlement,  in  order  to  keep  the  patrimony 
intact.  So  common  was  the  custom  that  the  appropriate 
legislation  occupies  more  space  in  the  "  Book  of  the  Cove- 
nant" than  any  other  rubric  (Ex.  xxi.  1-11).  Hebrew  so- 
ciety, even  in  more  settled  days,  was,  by  virtue  of  its  very 
constitution,  in  a  constant  state  of  flux.  Slaves  were, 
indeed,  always  numerous.  Doubtless  their  number  de- 
creased after  the  earlier  days  of  the  monarchy,  with  the 
more  general  settlement  of  the  country  and  more  widely 
diffused  prosperity.  As  great  estates  increased  in  num- 
ber, there  was,  of  course,  more  demand  for  manual  toil. 
But  this  was  satisfied  rather  by  the  engagement  of  hired 
labourers  than  by  the  importation  of  slaves.  Hirelings, 
indeed,  came  in  couree  of  time  to  be  a  considerable  ele- 
ment of  the  population.*    Their  absence  from  the  earliest 

1  On  the  subject  of  hired  serfants  in  Israel,  see  Bennett,  "Economic 
Conditions  of  the  Hebrew  Monaicbj,"  in  27ie  ITiinker,  vol.  iii  (1893), 
I>.  302  f. 


■ 


I.^Al^U.'-lll.  .JU- 


Cii.  VI,  §542     CONDITION  OF  HIRELINGS  AND  SLAVES         171 


code  seems  to  prove  that  servile  labour  was  relatively 
more  common  at  the  time  of  the  occupation  of  Canaan, 
and,  indeed,  that  slaves  performed  all  the  needful  work. 
That  hired  service  did  not  displace  slave  labour  at  any- 
time, was  in  large  measure  due  to  the  fact  that  wide- 
spread calamity  was  frequent  in  the  history  of  Israel. 
Great  misfortunes,  such  as  prolonged  unsuccessful  wars 
like  those  against  Damascus,  dearth,  famine  or  pesti- 
lence, must  in  various  ways  have  shaken  the  organic 
framework  of  society,  chiefly  through  the  multiplication 
of  hopeless  debtors  and  the  pauperizing  of  large  masses 
of  the  community.  An  immediate  result  of  famine  espe- 
cially was  to  "  swell  the  list  of  those  unhappy  poor  who 
were  reduced  to  barter  liberty  for  bread  "^  (2  K.  iv.  1 ;  Isa. 
1.  1 ;  Neh.  v.  5,  8).  It  is  noteworthy  that  Amos,  whose 
reminiscences  of  such  seasons  of  suffering  (iv.  6  ff.)  have 
given  so  pathetic  an  undercurrent  to  his  prophecy,  is  also 
full  of  sympathy  for  the  helpless  poor  (ii.  6  f . ;  v.  11  f.; 
viii.  6),  particularly  because  of  their  enslavement  by  the 
leading  men,  even  for  the  trivial  debt  of  a  silver  piece  or 
a  pair  of  shoes. 

§  542.  The  servile  condition  was  within  its  limits  very 
elastic.  It  reached  from  the  extreme  of  rigour  and  cruel 
suffering  to  circumstances  of  ease  and  comfort,  and  even 
of  affluence  (2  Sam.  ix.  9  ff.).  It  admitted  of  positions  of 
responsibility  as  trusted  agentt  (Gen.  xxiv.),  and  as  coun- 
sellor (1  Sam.  ix.  5  ff. ;  xxv.  14  ff.),  just  as  in  Oriental 
courts  a  slave  has  often  been  the  chief  adviser  of  the 
king.  In  view  of  the  initial  hardships  of  most  modes  of 
slave-making,  as  above  described,  it  is  gratifying  to  know 
that  in  Israel,  at  least,  the  tendency  was  on  the  whole 
towards  permanent  amelioration.  To  this  end  economic 
prudence  would  conspire,  in  the  minds  of  the  masters, 
with  the  dictates  of  humanity  and  the  sanctions  of  the 

1 1  appropriate  the  words  of  Hallam  (Middle  Ages,  American  edition, 
1880,  vol.  i,  p.  317),  employed  to  describe  a  similar  state  of  things  in 
Western  Europe  during  the  famines  of  the  eleventh  century  a.d. 


'!  ^ 


ii 


% 


f  ^^ 


172 


FUGITIVE   SLAVES 


Book  VII 


it  ' 


:i    ! 


religion  of  Jehovah.  Hence  provisions  for  the  protection 
of  slaves  occupy  a  large  place  in  the  earliest  legislation 
(Ex.  xxi.  20  f. ;  26  f. ;  32).  These  ordinances  are  to  be 
judged  of  in  the  light  of  the  general  fact  that  according 
to  primitive  custom  the  master  had  the  power  of  life  and 
death  over  the  slave.^ 

§  543.  Extraordinary  and  admirable  is  the  enactment 
made  to  suit  the  settled  conditions  of  later  times,  that  a 
fugitive  slave  was  not  to  be  delivered  to  his  master,  but 
should  have  his  choice  of  residence  unmolested  according 
to  his  liking  (Deut.  xxiii.  15  f.).  Thus  Israel,  by  the  an- 
nulling of  its  old  "  fugitive  slave  law,"  attained  almost  at 
a  bound  a  moral  and  legal  position  which  was  not  reached 
by  England  till  the  year  1772  of  our  era,  nor  by  the  United 
States  of  America  till  nearly  a  century  later.^     The  sab- 

1  Slavery  was  in  fact,  at  least  in  veiy  many  instances,  an  amelioration 
of  the  infliction  of  death.  That  is  to  say,  slaves  were  originally,  perhaps 
in  the  majority  of  cases,  captives  of  war,  to  whom  life  was  granted  on 
condition  of  servitude.  From  this  point  of  view  slavery  may  justly  be 
regarded  like  many  another  Old  Testament  and  Semitic  custom,  which 
shocks  our  modern  sensibilities,  as  a  necessary  and  wholesome  advance  in 
the  progress  of  our  race  (cf .  Lecky,  Hist,  of  European  Morals,  New  York, 
1879,  vol.  i,  p.  102).  At  the  same  time  we  must  beware  of  attributing 
the  Institution  to  a  universal  sentiment  of  humanity,  since  the  inclination 
to  set  other  people  to  do  our  work  is  at  least  as  "  innate"  or  primary  as 
the  feeling  of  compassion.  It  is  interesting  to  note  how  Augustine  (  Cio. 
Dei,  xix.  15)  and  the  code  of  Justinian  (^Just.  i.  3,  3)  explain  the  word 
set'vus.  In  the  language  of  the  latter  the  term  arose  "quod  imperatores 
servos  vendere,  ac  per  hoc  servare,  nee  occidere  solent."  The  etymology 
is  more  than  doubtful,  but  its  currency  is  evidence  of  the  prevalence  of 
the  notion  it  conveys.  The  like  word  SoOXos  is  possibly  to  be  connected 
with  a  root  meaning  to  fasten  or  bind.  The  Hebrew  and  general  Semitic 
'abd  is  of  still  less  certain  derivation. 

2  Oddly  enough,  this  statute  seems  to  be  commonly  understood  as  pro- 
viding simply  that  "fugitive  slaves  from  foreign  countries  are  not  to  be 
given  up"  (Wm.  Smith's  Old  Test.  History,  New  York,  1873,  p.  277;  Ewald, 
Antiquities  of  Israel,  Engl,  tr.,  p.  217).  That  there  was  abundant  occa- 
sion for  action  generally  is  clear  from  the  observation  of  Nabal  (1  Sam. 
XXV.  10).  That  the  law  did  not  exist  from  the  beginning  of  the  settlement, 
except  as  implied  in  the  general  Mosaic  teaching,  is  very  probable,  since 
in  the  long  turbulent  stage  of  transition  to  fixed  agricultural  manners,  it 
would  have  tended  only  to  increase  disorder.    That  it  was  not  observed 


mm 


•mfrnm 


-i\l 


'ed 


Cir.  VI,  §  544 


ASSLMILATION  OF   SLAVES 


173 


batical  and  the  jubilee  year  liacl  tLeir  chief  significance  in 
the  emancipation  of  Israelitish  slaves.^  To  be  sure,  the 
distinction  was  sharply  drawn  here,  as  in  other  enact- 
ments, between  slaves  of  Hebrew  origin  and  those  of  for- 
eign birth.  But  this  was  inevitable  in  a  state  whose  very 
existence  depended  on  its  social  and  racial  exclusiveness. 
And  it  was  a  Hebrew  writer  of  universalistic  spirit,  who 
makes  his  hero,  non-Israelite  though  he  is,  speak  so  hu- 
manly of  the  rights  of  the  slave  :  "  If  I  were  to  disdain  the 
right  of  my  bondmen  or  of  my  bondmaid,  when  their  cause 
comes  before  me,  then  what  should  I  do  when  God  rises  up  ? 
And  when  he  calls  to  account,  what  sliould  I  answer  him  ? 
Did  not  he  who  made  me  in  the  womb  make  him?  Yea, 
one  framed  us  both  in  the  womb"^  (Job  xxxi.  13  ff.). 

§  544.  It  may  be  safely  maintained  that  the  Hebrew 
slavery  was  on  the  whole  a  great  blessing  to  the  land 
and  the  people.  Like  other  Semitic  institutions  it  was 
taken  up  by  the  religion  of  Jehovah,  mitigated,  regulated, 
and  made  to  minister  to  the  well-being  of  masters  and 
slaves,  and  of  the  state  at  large.  Apart  from  its  indus- 
trial advantages,  the  principal  benefits  which  under  this 
saving  regime  were  conferred  by  it  upon  society  may,  I 
apprehend,  be  summed  up  under  three  heads.  In  the  first 
place,  it  was  an  indispensable  means  of  assimilating  the 
heterogeneous  peoples  of  the  country,  and  of  thus  building 
up  the  commonwealth  of  Israel.  Only  in  this  way,  as  we 
have  seen  (§  540,  cf.  507),  could  the  vast  numbers  of  sur- 
viving Canaanites  be  gradually,  insensibly,  and  completely 

at  the  accession  of  Solomon  we  may  perhaps  indirectly  infer  from  the 
incident  recorded  in  1  K,  ii.  39  f . 

1  We  know  that  this  was  disregarded,  at  least  as  a  rule,  in  the  later 
days  of  the  Judaic  monarchy.  Yet  Jeremiah,  who  inveighs  against  Zede- 
kiah  and  his  princes  for  having  sent  back  int©  bondage  their  Hebrew 
slaves  whom  they  had  released  under  the  influence  of  a  temporary  panic, 
insists  upon  it  that  the  rule  was  of  very  early  origin  ( Jer.  xxxiv.  8  ff. ) . 

2  The  ameliorations  of  the  lot  of  the  Hebrew  slaves  are  well  summa- 
rized by  Wallon,  Histoire  de  Vesclavage  dans  Vantiqinte,  2  ed.  (1879), 
vol.  i,  p.  11  ft. 


f 


;.- 


»|;l 


!:|.ti| 

■i 
III 


''■'ill 


II 


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i 


s    ' 


if 


174 


SLAVERY  A  PROTECTION 


Book  VII 


absorbed  in  the  controlling  element  of  the  population.  The 
process  is  not  difficult  to  conceive.  We  remember  that 
the  type  of  servitude  was  fixed  forever  by  the  inalienable 
traditions  of  the  old  patriarchal  system.  It  was  a  slavery 
of  the  house,  not  of  the  soil.  Home  privilege-j  and  asso- 
ciations were  the  boon  of  the  slave,  "  bought  with  money," 
as  well  as  of  the  "house-born."  Not  simply  concubinage 
with  the  house-master,  but  marriage  with  him  or  his  son, 
was  a  possibility  to  the  female  bond-servants.  Necessary  * 
participation  by  the  bond  and  free  in  the  same  religious 
rites  brought  to  the  same  general  mental  and  spiritual  level 
classes  of  people  already  pretty  well  equalized  by  similarity 
of  occupation  and  of  physical  habit.  The  very  divergence 
and  disparity  of  servile  conditions  promoted  the  upward 
social  movement.  The  interval  from  the  lowest  to  the 
highest  lot  of  Hebrew  slaves  marked  an  ascent  unspeak- 
ably greater  than  the  single  bound  by  which  the  emanci- 
pated servant  passed  into  the  ranks  of  freemen.  The 
system  was  so  elastic  and  the  transformations  of  con- 
dition so  numerous  and  rapid  that  while  we  recognize 
the  servile  class  as  a  weighty  social  element,  we  observe 
that  politically  a  "  slave  question  "  was  unknown  in  the 
history  of  Israel. 

§  645.  A  further  benefit,  entailed  by  the  Hebrew  institu- 
tion, was  the  protection  it  afforded  to  the  distressed  and  op- 
pressed at  home  and  abroad.  That  an  Israelite  should  be 
compelled  by  adverse  circumstances  to  sell  himself  and  his 
children  into  slavery  was  no  doubt  often  a  cruel  fate.  But 
in  the  average  case  such  a  fortune  was  better  than  either 
starvation  or  vagrancy,  even  without  the  advantages  se- 
cured by  legislative  enactments.  For  the  fugitives  from 
over  the  borders  of  Israel,  the  hunted  survivors  of  the 
blood-feud,  the  night  attack,  and  the  woes  of  extermi- 
nation, the  Hebrew  system  furnished  a  genial  and  hospit- 
able asylum.     And  a  single  generation  might  transform 

1  If  for  no  other  reason,  because  otherwise  unavoidable  close  personal 
contact  with  the  slaves  would  have  rendered  the  house-people  unclean. 


II 


31" 


1- 


al 


Cii.  VI,  §  547       SLAVERY  AND   nilLANTHROPY 


176 


the  cringing  suppliant  into  a  respected  confidant  and  a 
father  of  freemen. 

§  54G.  But  the  greatest  blessing  which  the  Jewish  sys- 
tem of  servitude  brought  with  it  was  the  development  in 
Israel  of  the  philanthropic  temper,  the  spirit  of  compas- 
sion, the  sense  of  a  wide  human  brotherhood.  As  we 
have  seen,  the  Hebrew  legislation  was  unique  among  all 
pre-Christian  codes  for  its  protection  of  the  enslaved  and 
the  oppressed.  So  the  literature  abounds  above  all  other 
ancient  literatures  in  expressions  of  sympathy  for  bond- 
men and  captives  and  the  victims  of  cruelty.  We  are 
in  the  habit  of  accounting  for  such  phenomena  by  saying 
that  they  were  the  outcome  of  the  revealed  religion,  the 
religion  of  Jehovah.  And  this  is  true:  "Jehovah  looseth 
the  prisoners"  (Ps.  cxlvi.  7).  If  we  go  further,  we  ex- 
plain them  as  being  due  to  the  constant  teaching  of  the 
Prophets.  This  also  is  true.  And  it  is  to  be  admitted 
that  most  of  the  touching  references  to  the  victims  of 
oppression  are  not  found  in  the  literature  of  the  times 
now  under  review,  but  in  the  comparatively  late  prophetic 
writings  of  the  period  of  the  Exile.  Yet  the  chivalric  and 
philanthropic  spirit  breathes  through  the  discourses  of 
Amos  as  strongly  and  purely  as  in  those  of  the  Second 
Isaiah.  And  we  must  discard  the  idea  that  the  Prophets 
stood  alone  in  Israel,  and  were  the  only  effective  force  in 
the  community  in  defence  of  righteousness  and  humanity. 
In  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  at  any  rate,  they  spoke  for  a 
saving  remnant  which,  though  small  (Isa.  i.  9),  was  yet 
strong  enough  to  survive  the  shock  of  national  doom. 
No  writer  or  thinker  has  ever  quickened  the  heart  of 
humanity  by  the  propagation  of  sentiments  cherished  by 
himself  alone.  The  "  Prophet "  is  one  who  not  only 
speaks  for  God,  but  for  his  fellows.  The  true  Israel 
spoke  in  defence  of  the  suffering  and  the  down-trodden 
just  as  truly  in  the  Law  as  it  did  in  the  Prophets. 

§  647.  Why  is  it  that  alone  among  the  Semitic  peoples, 
ancient  or  modern,  Israel  has  left  no  recorded  traces  of  a 


i'l 


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■  i*  ■  ' 

[  ffi ' 

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170 


HOW  ISRAEL  LEARNED   SYMPATHY 


Book  VII 


4  ,>j 


'  1  • 


traffic  in  the  bodies  of  men,  except  in  its  prohibition  (Ex. 
xxi.  16;  Deut.  xxiv.  7)?  And  yet  this  "was  the  only 
branch  of  commerce  which  it  could  profitably  undertake. 
It  was  a  refuge  for  fugitives  from  all  the  surrounding 
tribes.  Its  position  gave  it  command  of  countless  high- 
ways for  pilgrims,  travellers,  merchants,  emigrants,  and 
exiles.  The  rich  could  be  taken  for  their  ransom,  the 
poor  because  they  had  no  helper.  Close  upon  their  bor- 
der, too,  was  the  city  of  Tyre,  the  greatest  resort  of  slave- 
traders  known  to  the  ancient  East  (§  45).  Why,  again, 
is  it  that  while  we  read  of  a  great  and  successful  uprising 
in  Tyre  of  the  slaves  against  their  masters,^  in  Jerusalem 
such  a  thing  is  unheard  of  and  unthinkable  ?  The  reason 
is  not  far  to  seek.  Israel  in  this,  as  in  all  else,  reaped 
what  it  had  sown.  It  practised  what  it  had  learned.  It 
was  taught,  divinely  taught,  the  law  of  human  kindness 
by  its  very  contact  with  the  needy  and  the  oppressed.  It 
learned,  we  may  add,  by  its  own  experience  of  trial  and 
bondage.  If  it  was  solitary  among  the  nations  in  its 
moral  and  religious  training,  it  was  equally  singular  in 
its  antecedent  and  subsequent  fortune.  Its  cradle  was 
the  bondage  of  Egypt,  and  the  recollections  of  its  infancy 
were  never  allowed  to  die.  "  Remember  that  thou  wast  a 
slave  in  the  land  of  Egypt"  (Deut.  v.  15;  xvi.  12  ;  xxiv. 
18,  22),  was  a  note  that  thrilled  deep  in  the  heart  of  Israel 
and  lingered  long.  Its  repeated  strain  mingled,  too,  with 
the  trumpet  warnings  of  a  more  bitter  fate.  Israel's  child- 
hood had  been  bruised  by  servitude  in  Egypt ;  its  youth 
was  being  buffeted  by  the  intermittent  assaults  of  a  multi- 
tude of  smaller  foes ;  its  manhood  was  to  be  crushed  by 
captivity  in  Babylon.  Thus  Israel  stood  in  Canaan  :  not 
utterly  brutalized  by  conquest;  not  wholly  hardened  by 
greed  and  rapine ;  its  better  self  awakened  by  the  remem- 
brance of  its  own  sorrows  as  a  people,  and  it  may  be  of 
its  own  sins  as  well.  Nowhere  else  have  been  illus- 
trated so  memorably  those  lovely  lines  which  the  most 


1  Wallon,  Hist,  de  Vesclavage,  I,  57. 


■ 


II 


Ch.  VI,  §  549     "STRANGERS  AND  SOJOURNERS" 


177 


sympathetic  of  Roman  poets  puts  into  the  mouth  of  an 
exiled  Canaanite.^ 

^le  quoque  per  multos  similis  fortuna  labores 
Jactatam  hac  demum  voliiit  consistere  terra ; 
Nou  ignara  mali  miseris  succurrere  disco. 

§  548.  We  may  go  so  far  as  to  maintain  that  the  very 
existence  of  Israel  was  made  possible  by  its  exceptional 
tolerance  and  protection  of  the  slave  and  the  stranger.  It 
has  just  been  stated  (§  5-44)  that  the  genial  social  sj'stem 
of  the  Hebrews  in  Canaan  was  a  chief  means  of  conciliating 
and  assimilating  members  of  outlying  communities.  We 
have  now  to  look  for  a  moment  at  a  class  of  people  living 
in  the  midst  of  Israel  who  were  not  of  Israel,  not  even  as 
much  so  as  the  slaves  of  the  household.  It  was  the  policy 
and  sentiment  of  the  Hebrews  towards  these  "  strangers  " 
which  perhaps  more  than  anything  else  contributed  to  the 
growth  of  the  nation.  The  ger  (ij)  was  one  of  a  class 
peculiarly  Semitic.^  Ke  was  properly  a  man  belonging  to 
no  tribe,  or  rather  one  cut  off  from  his  tribe  by  accident 
or  cruel  fate.  As  a  "sojourner,"  whether  immigrant  or 
fugitive,  within  the  bounds  of  a  hitherto  alien  community, 
he  could  become  its  "guest,"  receive  its  protection,  and 
engage  in  the  ordinary  avocations  of  life,  but  without  the 
political  rights  enjoyed  by  all  the  freemen  of  the  tribe. 
He  thus  ceased  to  be  an  outlaw,  "  a  wanderer  and  a  fugi- 
tive," the  fate  most  dreaded  in  tribal  society. 

§  549.  We  may  distinguish  four  stages  or  degrees. 
The  most  remote  was  naturally  the  "  foreigner ""  (ir:  fs), 
one  with  whom,  whether  he  lived  outside  of  the  holy  land, 
or  happened  to  be  within  its  limits,  no  intercourse  was 
held.  Such  a  one  at  best  could  claim  no  rights,  not  even 
of  shelter  or  protection,  until  he  came  within  the  second 
degree.     Then  he  became  a  ger^  strictly  speaking ;  that  is 

1  Vergil,  ^neid,  I,  G28  ff. 

2  The  best  accounts  of  the  gerim  known  to  the  writer  are  to  be  found 
in  W.  R.  Smith,  RS.  p.  76  ff.,  and  Nowack,  IIA.  I,  336  ff. 


•  1 1  11 


i!i-i 


^ 


I  1     i 

V 

'      1                ' 

1      '      ' 

1 

178 


FOUR  STAGES  OF   CLIENTSHIP 


Book  VII 


to  say,  he  was  made  a  "  guest "  of  some  Israelite.  This 
was  usually  done  by  partaking  of  the  hospitality  which 
was  offered  to  all,  according  to  the  immemorial  code  of 
Semitic  manners,  as  soon  as  the  refugee  came  under  the 
canopy  of  the  tent.  Eating  in  common,  or  the  sacred  oath, 
made  the  implicit  covenant  more  sacred  and  inviolable. 
But  even  these  solemnities,  frequently  and  gladly  as  they 
were  enjoyed  by  the  stranger,  were  not  indispensable. 
The  tent,  or  the  family  within  the  tent,  was  the  symbol 
and  surrogate  of  the  whole  community,  and  so  mere  contact 
with  the  tent-rope  assured  the  suppliant  of  the  temporary 
protection  not  only  of  his  immediate  patron,  but  of  the 
whole  clan  as  well,  whose  honour  was  involved  in  up- 
holding the  obligation.  This  privilege,  however,  was  un- 
derstood to  be  valid  for  only  a  limited  specified  period, 
such  as  might  be  sufficient  for  rest  and  preparation  for  the 
continuance  of  the  journey.  Indefinite  prolongation  might 
be  and  was  regularly  granted  in  ancient  Israel  upon  the 
supplication  of  the  wanderer.  Then  he  became  "  a  guest 
and  a  sojourner  "  (stt'ini  i|  Gen.  xxiii.  4 ;  Lev.  xxv.  35,  47 ; 
Ps.  xxxix.  12 ;  1  Chr.  xxix.  15 ;  cf.  Ps.  cxix.  19).  He  con- 
formed to  the  social  usages  of  the  protecting  community 
and  made  an  acknowledgment  of  its  deity  or  deities,  con- 
tributing to  the  support  of  the  institutions  of  the  land,  but 
not  initiated  into  its  sacred  rites  and  mysteries.  It  would 
seem  that  such  "  sojourners  "  sometimes  became  men  of 
property,  to  whom  native-born  freemen  were  beholden  for 
money  and  to  whom  they  might  eventually  become  bond- 
men (Lev.  xxv.  47).  This,  however,  can  scarcely  have 
been  a  feature  of  early  Israelitish  times.  By  coming  fully 
under  all  the  prescriptions  of  Hebrew  life,  religious  and 
social,  the  fourth  stage  was  reached,  when  the  client  be- 
came an  accredited  citizen,  and  a  full  member  of  the  com- 
munity, on  a  level  with  the  native-born  freemen  (pnT«). 
He  thus  ceased  to  be  in  any  sense  a  client  of  his  former 
patrons,  and  was  numbered  with  them  among  the  clients 
of  their  God. 


Ch.  VI,  §650     ASSIMILATION  OF  "STRANGERS" 


179 


§  550.  By  the  very  nature  of  the  case  the  last  stage, 
that  of  complete  absorption  into  the  ranks  of  the  tutelary 
community,  was  speedily  reached  by  the  great  majority  of 
strangers  who  ventured  to  enter  upon  the  third.  This  was 
Israel's  pre-eminent  opportunity.  From  the  beginning  of 
its  separate  career  as  a  prospective  nation  it  had  a  substan- 
tial clientage.  The  "mixed  multitude"  (§  453  f.)  of  its 
desert  wanderings  could  only  have  been  tolerated  as  a 
permanent  following  in  view  of  its  rapid  assimilation. 
Some  of  the  most  conspicuous  accessions  soon  became 
leaders  in  Israel.  For  example,  the  Kenites  furnished  the 
illustrious  names  of  Heber,  Caleb,  Othniel,  besides  others 
not  so  renowned.  When  large  bands  such  as  these  became 
a  part  of  Israel,  their  acceptance  of  the  religion  of  Jehovah 
and  its  peculiar  rites  was  a  matter  of  coui-se.  Later  we  do 
not  hear  so  much  of  whole  clans,  but  of  individuals,  such  as 
Uriah  the  Hettite,  Ittai  of  Gath,  Zelek  of  Amnion  (2  Sam. 
XV.  19;  xxiii.  37).  Now  Israel  was  absolutely  dependent 
upon  such  clients.  In  the  presence  of  countless  hostile  ele- 
ments which  perpetually  threatened  confusion  and  destruc- 
tion, during  the  regime  of  the  Judges  and  at  long  periods 
intermittently  thereafter,  the  conciliation  of  outsiders  was 
an  obvious  political  duty.  They  were  besides  much  in  de- 
mand as  recruits  for  the  soldiery  (§  520).  Of  the  two  great 
classes,  bondmen  and  strangers,  the  latter  were  permanently 
the  most  important  as  feeders  and  auxiliaries.  With  the 
Canaanites,  war  to  the  death  was  for  a  time  the  theoretical 
policy.  Practically,  as  we  have  seen,  they  were  in  most 
cases  made  bondmen,  and  then  in  large  numbers  emanci- 
pated. The  "  strangers "  were  from  divers  communities, 
which  were  not  under  the  sacred  ban.^ 


1  The  prescription  of  Deut.  xxiii.  3  ff.  .against  Moabites  and  Ammonites 
was  evidently  not  observed,  at  least  till  after  the  time  of  David.  The 
feud  with  Moab  of  the  days  of  Ehud  (§  188)  was  (juite  forgotten  in  the 
later  portion  of  the  epoch  of  the  Judges,  as  the  Book  of  Ruth  shows  plainly. 
The  association  of  David  and  his  family  with  Moab  just  before  his  acces- 
sion was  of  the  most  intimate  kind  ( 1  Sam.  xxii.  3  f.).  For  Ammon,  David's 
life-guurdsman,  mentioned  above,  is  a  case  in  point. 


■M 


'1   11 
1? 


■  t 


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4\ 


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Jill 

i 

re  'I 

11 


1 


180 


HOW  FUSION  WAS  POSSIBLE 


Book  VII 


|i 


§  551.  It  may  be  asked  how  it  came  to  pass  that  assim- 
ilation and  incorporation  could  take  place  so  rapidly  and 
on  such  an  extensive  scale.  The  answer  is  threefold.  In 
the  first  place,  the  social  conditions  which  prevailed  through- 
out the  whole  ancient  era  made  membership  in  one  clan 
or  another  always  desirable,  and  usually  an  absolute  neces- 
sity for  self-protection  and  even  for  the  conveniences  of 
life.  Secondly,  a  transfer  of  political  and  religious  alle- 
giance was  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world,  when  each 
country  and  often  each  locality  had  its  own  deity,  whose 
tutelage  was  extended  as  a  matter  of  course  to  his  clients 
within  his  jurisdiction,  and  to  them  alone.  Again,  the 
reception  into  the  new  society  with  its  special  religious 
and  social  observances  was  not  a  matter  requiring  a  serious 
change  of  conviction  or  indeed  any  sort  of  an  inward 
struggle  of  mind  and  conscience.  The  essence  of  the 
matter  was  the  observance  of  certain  well-understood  cere- 
monies and  formal  prescriptions.  True,  Israel  occupied  a 
high  moral  position,  from  the  spiritual  claims  made  upon 
the  votaries  of  its  religion.  But  we  read  the  Old  Testa- 
ment records  to  little  ^^  urpose  if  we  fail  to  recognize  the 
abounding  evidence  they  contain  of  wide-spread  practical 
ignoring  of  these  stern  conditions  during  the  greater 
portion  of  its  history.  Where  Jehovah  was  sincerely  wor- 
shipped under  animal  forms  popularly  associated  with  the 
rites  of  Baal;  where  "high-places"  were  everywhere  to 
be  found  with  altars  dedicated  to  his  service ;  and  where 
every  hedge-priest  could  minister  at  the  shrines  of  the  God 
of  the  land,  no  conscientious  obstacles  to  the  acceptance 
of  the  popular  religion  were  likely  to  suggest  themselves. 
Moreover,  the  initial  outward  condition  of  attachment  to 
the  religion  and  community  of  Israel,  the  rite  of  circum- 
cision, was  one  not  unfamiliar  to  the  majority  of  Semites. 
It  may  be  remarked  that  the  clearest  social  distinction 
possible  is  made  between  the  slaves  and  "strangers,"  by 
the  enactment  that  the  former  were  to  be  invariably  cir- 
cumcised,  as  already  being  members  of  the  household, 


■ 


Cn.  VI,  §553     POLICY  TOWARDS  "STRANGERS" 


181 


whether  they  were  bought  with  money  or  were  home-born. 
The  rite  was,  of  course,  prescribed  for  strangers  only  when 
they  were  adopted  into  the  community. 

§  552.  Naturally  the  accessions  to  the  ranks  of  Israel 
from  outside  sources  were  more  frequent  in  prosperous 
times  and  in  seasons  of  peace.  In  times  of  hard  fighting, 
soldiers  of  fortune  might  be  naturalii.ed  (cf.  §  520),  but 
the  country  would  receive  but  few  spontantoiT*  i'nmigrants. 
The  additions  during  the  reigns  of  David  and  Solomon  must 
have  been  very  great.  It  is  highly  suggestive  that  just 
such  epochs  are  chosen  in  the  poetical  literature  as  sym- 
bols of  the  ideal  Israel,  when  it  would  be  enlarged  by  the 
incorporation  of  foreign  citizens  who  should  come  as  in  a 
stream  to  Jerusalem.  The  national  policy  in  this  regard 
seems  to  have  been  unaffected  by  prosperity  or  disaster. 
It  was  one  of  unvarying  clemency  and  consideration.  As 
toward  the  slave  (§  542  ff.),  so  towards  the  stranger,  no 
harshness  was  to  be  shown.  There  was  added  too  the  same 
touching  reminder,  "  For  ye  w^ere  strangers  in  the  land  of 
Egypt"  (Ex.  xxii.  21 ;  xxiii.  9;  Lev.  xix.  33  f. ;  xxv.  23  ; 
Deut.  X.  18  f . ;  cf.  Ex.  xxiii.  12 ;  Lev.  xix.  10 ;  Numb. 
XXXV.  15 ;  Deut.  i.  16).  The  invidious  distinctions  pre- 
scribed in  certain  matters,  such  as  liberty  to  lend  to  them 
on  usury  (Deut.  xxiii.  20),  or  giving  them  to  partake  of 
food  ceremonially  unclean  (Deut.  xiv.  21),  were  rather 
in  the  nature  of  favours  to  Israel  than  discriminations 
against  alien  residents  of  the  land.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
indirect  encouragements  to  affiliation  were  very  strong. 
When  once  the  uniting  bond  had  been  ratified,  the  whole 
circle  of  Israelitic  privileges  was  open:  the  Passover 
(Ex.  xii.  48;  Numb.  ix.  14),  the  joyous  feasts  (Deut.  xvi. 
9  ff. ;  xxxi.  12;  cf.  xxvi.  12  f.),  and  the  solemn  covenants 
(Deut.  xxix.  10  f. ;  Josh.  viii.  33  f.). 

§  553.  The  Hebrew  system  of  the  adoption  of  strangers 
was  the  very  soul  and  life  of  the  universalism  of  the  later 
prophets.  In  idealizing  this  relation,  as  when  they  trans- 
figure the  associations  of  domestic  life  (§  399,  407,  426, 


III 


>!i 


;  1,  ! 


! 


V   i    I 


i    fil 


182 


THE  "STRANGER"  IN  LITERATURE         Book  VII 


ii 


w 


It 


429,  432  f.),  the  seers  and  poets  of  Israel  instinctively  seize 
upon  the  national  attitude  and  policy  towards  strangers 
in  its  grand  potentiality  and  significance.  In  the  prayer 
at  the  dedication  of  the  Temple,  which  was  "to  be  called 
a  house  of  prayer  for  all  the  peoples  "  (Isa.  Ivi.  7),  and  to 
which,  as  the  religious  centre  of  the  world,  all  nations 
should  come  streaming  (Isa.  ii.  2  ff.;  Mic.  iv.  1  ff.),  Solo- 
mon intercedes  (1  K.  viii.  41  ff.)  in  behalf  of  the  "  stran- 
ger" in  Israel  who  should  worship  at  the  sacred  place. 
Isaiah  foresees  that  Egyptians  and  Assyrians  shall  join 
with  Israel  in  oblation  and  sacrifice  and  privilege  and 
blessed  conditions  (Isa.  xix.  18  ff.).  The  Second  Isaiah 
declares  of  the  foreigners  who  join  themselves  to  Jehovah, 
that  their  sacrifices  should  be  just  as  acceptable  to  him 
us  those  of  the  native-born  Israelites  (Isa.  Ivi.  6  f. ;  cf. 
xliv.  5 ;  xlv.  22  f. ;  Ix.  3  ff. ;  Ixvi.  18  ff. ;  Jer.  iii.  17 ;  xvi. 
19 ;  Zech.  ii.  11,  and  especially  viii.  20  ff.). 

§  554.  The  same  exulting  anticipation  is  expressed  in 
the  lyrical  accompaniments  of  the  prophetic  voices.  That 
Jehovah  is  the  Ruler  of  the  nations  is  a  frequent  boast  of 
the  Psalmists  (Ps.  ii.,  Ixxii.,  Ixxv.,  Ixxxii.,  ex.).  But 
some  of  them  know  of  a  more  intimate  and  blessed  rela- 
tion. One  declares  that  the  emancipation  of  Israel  is  to 
be  followed  by  the  gathering  of  the  peoples  and  kingdoms 
in  Jerusalem  to  serve  Jehovah  (Ps.  cii.  19  ff. ;  cf.  Ixxxvi. 
9).  Another  presents  us  with  the  picture  of  a  great  fes- 
tal sacrifice.  A  rejoicing  over  the  deliverance  of  God's 
faithful  ones  from  deadly  peril  is  the  immediate  occasion. 
But  the  very  thought  of  the  great  redemption  makes  all 
the  ends  of  the  earth  turn  adoringly  to  Jehovah ;  and  all 
the  kindreds  of  the  nations  are  invited  to  the  feast  of 
thanksgiving.  All  alike  —  the  nobles,  the  serfs,  and  the 
half-famished  poor  —  are  then  to  partake  of  the  sacrifice 
and  share  in  the  worship  (Ps.  xxii.  25  ff. ;  cf.  Isa.  xxv. 
6  ff.).  The  impassable  gulf  of  separation  is  bridged  over 
by  the  common  meal  and  the  common  religious  service. 
Here  we  have  the  essential  elements  in  the  naturalization 


Ch.  VI,  §  535 


RELIGIOUS  ADOPTION 


183 


of  the  "stranger."  The  hospitality  of  the  feast  makes 
him  a  guest  of  Israel ;  fellowship  in  worship  makes  him  a 
fellow-citizen.  Another  gives  us  a  still  wider  and  pro- 
founder  view  (Ps.  Ixxxvii.),  in  beautiful  consonance  with 
a  prophetic  utterance  already  cited  (Isa.  xliv.  5).  Fore- 
most among  the  thronging  nations,  the  world-powers  of 
the  poet's  time  —  Egypt,  Babylon,  Philistia,  Tyre,  and 
Ethiopia  —  receive  the  birth-right  of  Israelites.  In  Zion, 
where  the  new  citizens  are  proclaimed  to  be  votaries^  of 
Jehovah,  a  record  is  kept  of  the  old  affiliations  and  the 
new.  And  see,  the  newcomers  are  not  enrolled  as  prose- 
lytes and  foreigners  !  They  are  entered  in  the  register 
as  free-born  citizens  of  Zion  (cf.  §  549).  Lastly,  still 
another  Psalmist  —  the  same  Avho  sings,  "Jehovah  looseth 
the  prisoners "  (§  546)  —  sums  up  for  us  the  essential 
spirit  and  motive  of  the  law  and  sentiment  of  Israel  with 
regard  to  outsiders,  "Jehovah  preserveth  the  strangers" 
(Ps.  cxlvi.  9). 

§  555.  We  have  thus  seen  that  slavery  of  the  Hebrew 
or  Old  Testament  type,  and  the  traditional  treatment  of 
aliens,  were  two  of  the  most  beneficent  and  conservative 
of  the  social  institutions  of  Israel.  We  may  now  resume 
our  inquiry  into  the  effects  of  Hebrew  life  and  manners  as 
a  whole  upon  the  fortunes  of  the  people.  At  the  close  of 
the  era  we  have  at  present  under  review,  we  find  the 
Northern  Kingdom  at  an  end.  Judah,  according  to  the 
estimate  left  us  by  the  best  contemporaries,  is  in  a  most 
unpromising  condition.  The  witnesses  ascribe  the  decline 
and  fall  of  Israel  to  a  variety  of  destructive  agencies.  These 
agencies  were,  in  part,  enemies  who  assailed  the  nation  from 


I' 


:  I 
ii 

^  1 


n 


ml 


i  ki 


m 

It 


1  Not  blind  devotees  or  mechanical  ritualists,  as  we  learn  from  the 
descriptive  phrase  in  ver.  4,  "those  that  know  me"  (cf.  Jer.  xxxi.  34). 
This  psalm  —  condensed  almost  to  obscurity,  and  yet  in  some  important 
respects  the  most  instructive  composition  of  the  Old  Testament  —  is  not 
only  one  of  the  grandest  of  optimistic  prophecies,  but  an  a.ssertion  at  the 
same  time  of  the  inward  and  spiritual  character  of  incorporation  into  the 
true  Israel.  What  an  interval  of  progress  between  it  and  the  conceptions 
of  the  days  of  the  Judges  (Ruth  i.  15  ff.)! 


w 


184 


INTERNAL  ELEMENTS  OF  DECAY 


lio  .iv  vir 


i  ■^^ 


li 


il 


without.     One  naturallj'  asks  whether  the  political  ruin  of 
Israel  was  not,  after  all,  the  work  of  these  external  foes. 

§  556.  It  is  a  question  difficult  to  answer,  what  the 
fate  of  the  two  kingdoms  would  have  been  if  their  destiny 
had  been  determined  by  the  action  of  outside  nations 
alone,  and  if  thej'  had  not  bp.n  a  prey  to  decadence 
within.  It  is  hard  to  say  whether,  for  example,  Israel 
as  a  whole  was  inwardl}-  and  morally  made  better  or  worse 
by  the  desperate  Syrian  wars.  One  indirect  benefit  at 
least  was  gained,  apart  from  the  development  among  the 
people  of  the  patriotic  and  heroic  temper.  War  with 
Damascus  and  the  surrounding  nations  generally  meant 
in  large  degree  hostility  to  their  debasing  worship.  And 
so  far  as  the  strenuous  resistance  of  their  assaults  im- 
plied and  induced  greater  fidelity  to  Jehovah,  Israel  was 
thereby  vastly  the  gainer.  The  relations  with  Assyria 
were  of  a  somewhat  different  character.  Collision  with 
that  invincible  power  was  not  primarily  a  life  and  death 
struggle.  The  empire  of  the  Tigris  would  have  been 
contented  with  mere  submission  and  payment  of  tribute. 
And  vassalage  of  the  first  degree  (§  286)  would  not  have 
involved  the  loss  of  autonomy.  It  would  certainly  be 
morally  and  religiously  injurious,  tending  to  weaken  popu- 
lar faith  in  the  supremacy  of  Jehovah  and  to  familiarize 
the  people  with  foreign  modes  of  thought.  But  prolonged 
acquiescence  in  the  Assj'rian  overlordship  would  bring  with 
it  a  degree  of  civil  quietude  and  domestic  contentment 
utterly  out  of  the  question  amid  the  turbulence  of  stubborn 
rebellion.  If  we  are  to  trust  the  judgment  of  the  Prophets, 
we  must,  in  any  case,  Ijelieve  that  the  decay  and  dissolu- 
tion of  Israel  generally  did  not  proceed  from  external 
enemies,  but  from  noxious  elements  within.  We  have  at 
an  earlier  stage  summarized  these  moral  principles  and 
occasions  of  the  dissolution  of  the  state  in  their  outward 
aspects  and  relations  (§  271,  320  ff.).  We  have  now  to 
inquire  how  they  were  connected  with  the  constitution  and 
internal  workings  of  Hebrew  society. 


Ch.  VI,  §  558     ANTECEDENT  CHANCES  OF  ISRAEL 


185 


§  557.  It  might  not  be  difficult  to  dispose  of  tlie  prob- 
lem in  a  certain  fashion  by  the  application  of  a  formula  or 
the  citation  of  a  general  principle.  We  may  lay  it  down 
as  an  axiom  that  where  there  is  little  capacity  of  political 
development  or  adaptation,  the  social  fabric  is  in  danger 
of  speedy  overthrow.  Now  our  sketch  of  the  outward 
history  of  Israel  simply  confirms  the  general  estimate  of 
the  political  genius  of  the  Semitic  peoples  given  in  our 
introduction  (§  28  ff.).  A  ready  practical  criterion  of  the 
political  attainments  of  Israel  may  be  seen  in  the  fact 
that  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  people  depended 
almost  entirely  upon  the  character  of  the  rulers,  who  alone 
could  give  moral  effectiveness  to  measures  of  internal  state 
policy,  or  in  the  equally  striking  fact  that  the  political  re- 
formers were  mainly  ministers  of  religion.  It  was,  there- 
fore, antecedently  improbable  that  the  Hebrew  kingdoms 
could  have  either  a  lengthened  or  a  prosperous  history. 
Another  point  of  view  may  be  occupied.  "  Both  history 
and  science  show  us  that  social  and  economic  changes  to 
be  permanent  must  be  gradual,  and  fitted  to  the  mental 
and  moral  conditions  of  the  people."  ^  Having  already 
observed  (§  511)  that  while  among  the  Semites  political 
progress  was  extremely  slow,  social  changes  went  on  with 
comparative  rapidity,  we  might  accordingly  maintain  that 
the  Hebrew  national  system  could  not  in  any  case  have 
become  permanent.  This  position  is  tenable  with  the 
proviso  just  indicated  (§  556),  that  the  causes  of  degen- 
eration are  internal  and  inherent,  not  external  and  ad- 
ventitious. Our  most  obvious  procedure  is  to  take  the 
theory  of  the  decline  of  Israel  held  by  the  Prophets,  and 
see  whether  the  causes  alleged  are  characteristic  and  suffi- 
cient. Fortunately,  the  case  is  in  its  main  aspects  very 
simple  and  easily  disposed  of.  For  this  very  reason  it  is 
the  more  exemplary  and  worth  exhibiting. 

§  558.  It  is  universally  admitted  that  Israel  was  a 
singular  community.     Its  singularity  was  due  not  so  much 

1  Henry  Dyer,  The  Evolution  of  Industry  (UB95),  preface. 


1  I 


!! 


! 

i 

1?  :i 

II 

p:: 

i' ' 

iui 

m 

f.'!>ll 


M\W 


1 


180 


INFLUENCE   OF  THE  "CLASSES" 


Book  VII 


•    I  ' 


to  its  distinctive  race  characteristics  as  a  supreme  develop- 
ment of  Semitism,  but  rather  to  the  religious  and  moral 
bias  which  marked  its  career  (§  386  ff.),  and  which  made 
it,  in  its  highest  and  most  influential  types  of  thought  and 
life,  run  counter  to  the  genius  of  Semitism.  Above  all,  it 
was  unique  in  its  ideal  morality  and  in  its  disavowal  of 
polytheism.  A  phenomenon  so  remarkable  among  Semitic 
nations,  and  so  pronounced,  must  necessarily  be  the  con- 
trolling factor  in  the  history  of  any  people  manifesting  it. 
Through  lack  of  representative  government  and  popular 
institutions,  no  Semitic  state  has  long  continued  to  flourish 
unless  when  maintained  by  adequate  physical  force  (§  56). 
There  was  but  one  alternative  possibility;  namely,  that 
when  material  resources  were  wanting,  moral  principles 
might  prolong  the  life  of  the  state.  A  general  illustra- 
tion is  afforded  by  the  observation  above  made  that  the 
national  weal  always,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  depended,  in 
Israel,  upon  the  moral  excellence  of  its  rulers  (cf.  §  534). 
§  559.  We  are  thus  brought  by  general  considerations 
to  the  same  point  which  we  reached  (§  533)  in  our  in- 
ductive examination.  That  is  to  say,  we  are  to  inquire 
into  the  influence  of  the  ruling  classes  in  Israel.  And 
we  see  again  as  clearly  as  before  that  the  point  at  issue 
is  their  moral  character  and  conduct.  We  have  already 
learned  (§  534  ff.)  what  these  social  and  political  leaders 
were.  Above  all,  yet  with  an  authority  more  or  less 
limited  by  that  of  the  religious  leaders,  stood  the  absolute 
king.  On  the  religious  side  were  the  priests  and  prophets, 
more  or  less  subservient  to  "  Jehovah's  anointed."  In  the 
political  sphere  there  were  the  local  elders,  the  judges, 
and  the  princes,  nominally  responsible  to  the  king,  but 
in  practice  allowed  as  a  rule  to  go  their  own  way.  The 
social  leaders  were  naturally  the  officials  just  mentioned. 
But  besides  these,  and  continually  forcing  themselves  or 
being  forced  into  official  positions,  were  the  aristocracy  of 
wealth,  the  large  property  ners  and  capitalists.  Finally, 
there  must  be  reckoned  the  courtiers,  the  continually  in- 


Cii.  VI,  §  500 


nUMITIVE   EQUALITY 


187 


creasing  throng  of  those  who  for  purposes  of  intrigue  or 
self-indulgence  "  ate  at  the  king's  table."  At  their  head 
were  the  officers  of  the  royal  household.  Theoretically 
these  should  have  no  separate  place,  since  they  were 
simply  personal  attach^  of  the  king.  Practically,  how- 
ever, they  gradually  attained  to  independent  personal 
influence  of  the  most  decisive  kind  (Isa.  xxii.  15  ff. ;  Jer. 
xxxvii.  15  ff. ;  cf.  xxxviii.  25).^  It  is  the  relations  sus- 
tained by  these  magnates  to  the  common  people  on  the 
one  hand,  and  to  the  supreme  rulers  on  the  other,  that 
determined  both  the  political  and  the  moral  destiny  of 
Israel.  These  relations  were  practically  fulfilled  (1)  in 
the  possession  and  use  of  property,  (2)  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice,  and  (3)  in  the  observances  of  religion. 

§  560.  Let  us  take  a  backward  glance,  and  learn  how  the 
complicated  conditions  of  the  later  decisive  periods  were 
evolved.  Before  the  clans  of  Israel  came  over  the  borders 
of  Canaan,  their  social  system  was  as  nearly  homogeneous 
as  it  is  possible  for  any  organized  society  to  be.  There 
was  no  order  of  nobility  supported  either  by  hereditary 
right  or  by  the  rights  of  property.  Indeed,  the  hereditary 
privilege,  which  is  the  life  of  aristocracy,  is  bound  up  with 
the  possession  of  fixed  property ;  and  the  shifting,  pre- 
carious character  of  proprietorship  among  nomadic  and 
semi-nomadic  peoples  renders  this  condition  ijermanently 
impossible.  There  is  accordingly  every  reason  to  believe 
that  just  as  it  was  and  is  with  the  Arab  sheiohs,^  so  it  was 
also  with  the  synonymous  Hebrew  "  elders  "  of  the  olden 
time,  and  even  Avith  the  "princes  of  the  congregation." 
Age  and  repute  for  wisdom  were  the  qualifications  that 
determined  the  choice,  as  is  attested  by  the  very  name 

1  These  are  called  "princes"  in  Jeremiah.  In  the  later  clays  of  the 
kingdom  of  Judah  this  term  was  thus  applied  to  the  king's  council. 

2  We  are  told  by  native  Arabian  authorities  that  it  was  something  very 
remarkable  when  the  chieftainship  of  a  tribe  remained  in  the  same  family 
for  four  generations.  Kremer,  Die  herrschenden  Ideen  des  Islams  (1868), 
p.  316 ;  cf.  p.  311.  Compare  what  was  said  in  vol.  i  (p.  404)  on  the 
election  of  the  modern  Nestorian  mdlik. 


II 


;  il 


■111 


lUM 


INTERFERING   FACTORS 


Book  VII 


"  elder,"  common  to  all  considerable  ancient  communities 
(cf.  Job  xxxii.  7).  Again,  the  simplicity  of  living,  among 
the  highest  and  the  lowest  alike,  made  the  multiplication 
of  nobles  of  any  grade  out  of  the  question. 

s5  561.  We  have  thus  to  picture  to  oureelves  the  social 
conditions  of  Israel  in  its  early  settlement  as  being  but 
little  modified  from  its  primitive  uniformity.  Only  a  slight 
differentiation  was  made  when  the  allotment  of  the  new 
possessions  brouglit  some  families  and  individuals  into 
greater  prominence  than  others.  The  clansmen,  there- 
fore, at  this  stage,  when  decisive  changes  were  impending, 
were  on  a  pretty  even  footing.  Certain  kins  or  family 
groups  were,  indeed,  more  powerful  than  others ;  but  of 
the  heads  of  families  as  a  whole,  none  were  very  rich  and 
none  very  poor.  Nor  was  any  freeman  so  low  as  that  his 
voice  might  not  be  heard  in  council  with  the  highest.  But 
these  relations  began  to  be  seiiousl}'  interfered  with  by 
the  first  stages  of  the  process  of  settlement. 

§  562.  What,  then,  were  the  various  classes  of  the  popu- 
lation that  were  to  be  reckoned  with?  Besides  the  free- 
men of  Israel  and  their  families  there  were  their  household 
slaves  and  their  clients  or  gerim  (§  540  ff.,  548  ff.). 
These  latter  cannot  have  been  very  numerous  relatively 
to  the  whole  people  of  Israel.  The  "  mixed  multitude  " 
of  the  desert  wanderings  (§  453)  must  have  been  in  great 
measure  absorbed  by  adoption  or  got  rid  of  as  superfluous. 
Yet  a  constant  influx  of  adventurous  or  needy  strangers 
was  inevitable  during  the  residence  east  of  Jordan. 
And  the  lust  of  plunder  and  of  fertile  lands  must  have 
brought  many  outsiders,  whole  tribes  in  fact,  to  join  them- 
selves to  the  invaders  before  tlie  crossing  of  the  river. 
Self-interest  would  impel  these  to  profess  the  faith  of 
Israel  with  all  reasonable  speed.  Thus  the  armies  and 
the  households  of  the  colonists  were  strengthened  for  w^ar 
and  labour.  But  the  same  accession  increased  the  number 
of  those  who  were  to  be  provided  for  in  the  new^  domain. 
The  process  of  their  settlement  presented  problems  more 


m 


fir.  VI,  §  &6;) 


MILITARY    LEADERS 


189 


formidable  than  the  campaigns  which  decided  against  the 
Canaanites  the  question  of  military  predominance.  It  fur- 
nished to  the  social  life  of  Israel  the  new  elements  which 
gave  form,  direction,  and  bias  to  its  development.  And 
wlien  the  determining  movements  had  potentially  done 
their  work,  the  social  aspect  of  Israel  in  Canaan  differed 
as  greatly  from  that  of  Israel  in  its  wanderings  as  the  con- 
tour of  Palestine,  with  its  mountains  and  valleys,  its  slopes 
and  precipices,  differed  from  the  simplicity  and  monotony 
of  the  desert. 

§  5G3.  The  first  step  in  the  direction  of  a  landed  aris- 
tocracy was  made  by  the  military  leaders.  In  the  nomadic 
and  semi-nomadic  state,  the  chief  who  leads  his  tribe  to 
successful  battle  does  not  thereby  gain  a  permanent  eleva- 
tion over  his  fellows.  Upon  his  return  to  camp  he  becomes 
as  before  primus  inter  pares.  The  possession  of  land  to  be 
distributed  or  to  be  administered  gives  at  once  an  entirely 
different  character  to  the  victorious  leader.  He  is  now 
the  disposer  of  the  land  or  eventually  its  trustee.  That 
he  himself  personally  retains  a  goodly  share  of  the  new 
possessions  is  to  be  expected.  But  his  principal  function 
in  relation  to  the  newly  acquired  territory  is  to  portion  it 
out  among  his  family  or  his  companions  in  arms.^  Thus 
the  land  west  of  Jordan,  as  far  as  it  was  conquered  in  his 
days,  was  allotted  by  Joshua  to  the  clans  that  had  occupied 
it  under  his  leadership ;  and  the  remainder  was  assigned  to 
be  divided  among  the  tribes  as  they  should  succeed  sever- 
ally in  acquiring  it.     In  this  he  followed  the  example  of 


re 


1  This  is  finely  set  forth  in  the  blessing  of  .Jacob,  where  the  dying  patri- 
arch says :  "  I  have  given  thee  one  height  of  land  above  thy  brethren, 
which  I  took  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Amorites  witli  my  sword  and  with 
my  bow"  (Gen.  xlviii.  22).  .Jacob  as  a  .shepherd  had  no  land  to  give. 
But  in  the  persons  of  his  descendants,  returning  to  "  the  land  of  his  sojourn- 
ings,"  claiming  it  as  the  land  of  promise  and  subduing  it  with  the  sword 
and  the  bow,  he  has  it  in  possession  to  be  portioned  out  among  his 
children.  The  "height  of  land"  here  is  the  same  word  as  "  Sliechem," 
which  was  a  place  of  great  prestige  and  influence,  and  was,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  allotted  to  Ephraim. 


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190 


THE   SECURING  OF  TITLES 


Book  VII 


Moses  in  the  distribution  of  the  lands  east  of  the  Jordan, 
which,  however,  being  rather  grazing  ground  than  arable 
soil,  was  never  held  by  Israel  with  a  fixed  and  certain 
tenure  (§  190).  So,  again,  Caleb  the  Kenizzite  is  ap- 
pealed to  as  the  proprietor  and  dispenser  of  the  districts 
in  southern  Judah  captured  by  his  clan  (Jud.  i.  14  f.).  In 
like  manner,  doubtless,  the  several  sections  of  the  northern 
tribes  that  gradually  made  their  way  to  the  more  or  less 
complete  possession  of  their  permanent  homes,  came  to 
receive  their  allotments  from  the  hands  of  their  respective 
chieftains. 

§  564.  The  next  stage  in  the  process  of  settlement  was 
the  final  securing  of  possessions  by  acknowledged  title. 
Naturally  the  distribution  was  ratified  by  the  approval  of 
the  heads  of  all  the  families  of  the  preempting  clan. 
This  preliminary  stage  was  in  one  district  longer,  in  an- 
other shorter,  but  nowhere  was  the  business  easily  or 
speedily  concluded.  That  many,  and  often  bitter,  dis- 
putes preceded  the  final  adjustment  goes  without  saying. 
But  conflicting  claims  could  not  be  finally  disposed  of 
without  the  authoritative  decision  of  the  sectional  leader, 
any  more  than  the  greedy  Norman  barons  in  England 
after  the  Conquest  could  have  been  safely  left  free  to 
divide  the  helpless  country  among  themselves.  But  how 
vastly  must  this  function  of  supreme  arbitrament  have 
enhanced  the*  authority  and  moral  advantage  of  the 
leader!  And  who  so  likely  as  the  successful  military 
chieftain  to  be  the  permanent  head  of  the  colony,  its 
chief  counsellor  and  its  "  judge  "  ?  In  this  relation  we  have 
implicitly  not  merely  the  main  condition,  but  the  actual 
beginning  of  the  rdginie  of  the  Judges. 

§  565.  We  thus  are  again  reminded  that  the  matter 
turned  finally  upon  the  appropriation  of  land,  mainly  of 
cultivated  land.  On  the  one  side  there  were  the  tracts  of 
pasturage.  But  these  also  were  formally  allotted,  though 
rather  to  family  groups  than  to  individual  freemen.  It 
is  only  among  this  less  fixed  population,  and  only  in  this 


-  ;; 


Cii.  VI,  §  567 


PROVISION  FOR   FREEMEN 


191 


sr 


transition  period,  that  anything  like  a  communal  system 
could  have  prevailed  (cf.  i^  50).  On  the  other  side  there 
were  the  cities.  These,  too,  represented  and  depended 
upon  cultivated  land.  Thus  their  more  tardy  expropria- 
tion by  the  invadei's  (§  476  f.)  did  not  involve  the  estab- 
lisliment  of  any  other  order  of  aristocracy  than  that  of 
landed  proprietorship. 

§  566.  The  homogeneity  of  the  old  pastoral  life  is  now 
being  threatened  at  the  threshold  of  Israel's  new  home. 
The  cultivation  of  the  soil  and  the  development  of  the 
industries  proper  to  the  life  in  towns  and  villages  (§  484) 
determine  the  most  important  permanent  forms  and  grades 
of  social  life.  We  have  just  spoken  of  the  freemen  in 
Israel,  and  their  acquisition  of  homesteads.  That  the 
great  body  of  them  were  well  provided  for  we  cannot 
doubt.  The  immediate  task  of  settlement  was  the  sequel 
of  the  occupation.  To  that  all  the  energies  of  the  united 
clans  had  been  bent.  So  here  the  feeling  of  brotherhood 
was  too  strong  and  universal  to  permit  of  continued  dis- 
putes which  would  lead  to  exclusion  from  the  common 
domain.  The  main  endeavour  was  to  secure  enough  for 
all.  To  accomplish  this  was,  in  fact,  a  matter  of  loyalty 
to  Jehovah,  whose  cause  was  a  constant  and  primary 
issue  of  the  occupation.  The  necessary  rule,  at  first,  was 
protection  and  care  for  the  Israelite,  and  merciless  severity 
to  the  resisting  Canaanite.  For  the  wronged  or  impov- 
erished Hebrew,  ample  provision  had  already  been  made 
in  the  Mosaic  enactments. 

§  567.  But  this  acquisition  of  permanent  homes  for 
themselves  was  only  a  part  of  the  great  undertaking. 
Israelitish  freemen  were  but  a  minority  of  the  population. 
There  were,  besides,  the  submissive  or  subjugated  Canaan- 
ites  and  the  body  of  gerim.  These,  as  we  know,  were  not 
superfluous  elements  or  permanent  aliens  from  the  com- 
monwealth of  Israel.  The  very  fact  of  their  survival 
shows  them  to  h.ave  been  taken  up  by  the  community. 
And  iu  the  nature  of  the  case  they  were  indispensable  to 


192 


PROVISION  FOR  SLAVES  AND  CLIENTS    Book  VII 


If 


>, 


J.i 


f'i 


the  community.  The  ample  institutions  of  slavery  and 
clientage  (§  539  ff.)  here  began  to  play  their  beneficent 
and  regenerative  part  in  the  evolution  of  the  new  Hebrew 
society.  Slavery  upon  submission  was  the  only  alterna- 
tive to  death ;  and  it  was  embraced  by  thousands  of 
Canaanites.  For  these  a  use  was  immediately  found,  or 
rather  had  been  from  the  first  foreseen.  The  Hebrews 
were  no  agriculturists.  Yet  henceforth  they  were  to  get 
their  living  directly  or  indirectly  from  the  ground.  Tillers 
of  the  soil  were  at  hand,  ready  to  be  set  to  work.^  In 
many  cases  we  have  to  imagine  the  former  masters  and 
proprietors  employed  as  slaves  upon  their  own  estates. 
The  "strangers"  were  similarly  utilized.  To  them  the 
less  laborious  tasks  would  be  allotted.  Where  the  Canaan- 
ite  serfs  toiled  in  the  field  or  in  repairing  or  erecting  walls, 
and  the  like  manual  employments,  these  clients  would  be 
called,  according  to  fitness  and  training,  to  the  less  servile 
avocation  of  overseeing  and  directing  the  task-work  (cf. 
Ex.  V.  14  ff.).  The  care  of  the  flocks  and  pastures  would 
also  largely  devolve  upon  them.  The  gradual  improvement 
in  the  condition  of  both  of  these  classes  has  already  been 
noticed  (§  544  f.,  549  ff.).  Our  present  interest  is  with  the 
leaders  of  society  whom  they  served  and  aggrandized. 

§  568.  It  is  related  2  of  the  chiefs  who  followed  Mo- 
hammed in  the  inauguration  of  Islam,  and  who  maintained 

1  Perhaps  many  old  Canaanitic  families  were  finally  allowed  to  manage 
and  cultivate  the  plantations  for  a  fixed  return  of  the  produce.  A  sugges- 
tive parallel  is  furnished  by  the  procedure  of  Mohammed  and  his  followers 
after  the  subjugation  of  the  cultivated  Jewish  settlement  of  Chaybar  (a.  u. 
028).  Half  of  the  land  was  retained  by  the  Prophet  for  himself  and  for 
sacred  uses,  and  the  remainder  was  divided  among  the  faithful.  But  it 
was  soon  found  that  there  were  not  hands  or  skill  enough  to  work  all  the 
estates,  so  many  of  the  conquered  were  permitted  to  return  to  their  fields 
and  till  them  on  condition  of  paying  one-half  of  lie  Jinnual  yield.  See 
Sprenger,  Lehen  und  Lehre  des  Muhammed  (1869;,  III,  275 ;  Muir,  Life 
of  Mohammed  (18(51),  IV,  74  f. 

2  See  Kremer,  Ideen  des  Mams,  p.  348  f.  Musa  ibn  Nosair,  the  con- 
queror of  Africa,  was  a  freedinau,  and  became  in  hia  turn  the  owner  of 
thousands  of  slaves  and  clients. 


'  111 


i'l 


Ch.  VI,  §  509     AGGRANDIZEMENT  OF  FAMILIES 


193 


its  victorious  progress  after  his  death,  that  they  obtained 
vast  numbers  of  slaves  through  the  conquests  of  Abu 
Bekr  and  of  Omar;  that  many  of  these  were  freed  by 
them,  and  raised  to  the  rank  of  "  clients  " ;  and  that  thus 
their  respective  households,  and  therewith  their  own 
power  and  prestige,  were  vastly  increased.  Not  otherwise 
was  it  with  the  chiefs  of  victorious  Israel  upon  the  smaller 
arena  of  Palestine  eighteen  centuries  before.  That  great- 
est of  Semitic  politicians,  "the  Cavour  of  Arabia,"  wlio 
knew  so  well  how  to  adapt  the  institutions  of  the  heathen- 
ism which  he  abolished,  was  anticipated  by  the  greatest  of 
Semitic  statesmen  and  lawgivers.  He,  in  a  narrower  field, 
and  yet  with  a  wider  aim  and  achievement,  utilized  the 
common  Semitic  customs  of  servitude  and  clientage,  and 
fitted  them  into  the  grander  mission  of  his  people.  As 
Mohammed's  lesson  was  followed  up  by  his  companions, 
so  the  policy  of  Moses  was  continued  by  his  successors. 
Apart  from  the  ultimate  and  consequential  benefit  of  these 
institutions,  their  immediate  effect  was  to  furnish  a  num- 
ber of  strong  and  resourceful  local  centres  as  rallying- 
points  for  the  people  of  Israel  during  their  long  and 
checkered  struggle  for  the  complete  control  of  the  land 
(§  478  ff.).  That  many  of  these  heads  of  families  and 
kins,  strengthened  and  appreciated  though  they  were, 
declined  through  the  wear  and  tear  of  conflict  or  the 
injuries  of  time  and  nature,  is  morally  certain.  Yet  a 
goodly  number  of  them  survived  tlie  storm  and  stress  of 
the  period  of  the  Judges.  Through  the  genuinely  Semitic 
device  of  affiliation  by  adoption  (§  550  f.),  they  were  per- 
petuated till  the  latest  time,  and  preserved  in  genealogi- 
cal tables  as  well  as  in  popular  tradition  the  name  and 
fame  of  the  ancient  heroes  who  came  over  with  the  Con- 
queror (1  Chr.  ii.  ff.  passim}. 

§  569.  But  we  naturally  revert  to  the  classes  of 
"nobles"  in  Israel,  whom  we  have  credited  with  deter- 
mining, in  their  place  and  time,  the  moral  destiny  of 
Israel.     How  were  these  related  to  the  early  movements 


;!i.| 


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194 


OFFICE   BECOMES   HEREDITARY 


Book  VII 


that  established  so  many  dominant  families  ?  In  this  way, 
above  all,  that  the  officials,  the  elders,  judges,  princes  of 
the  congregation,  were  according  to  the  recognized  prin- 
ciple chosen  as  a  rule  from  among  the  leading  men.  But 
there  was  a  concomitant  reason  which  gave  fixity  and 
duration  to  their  incumbency  of  the  offices.  The  simple 
round  of  life  on  the  desert  plains  had  made  it  possible  for 
any  prominent  man  to  act  as  "  counsellor,"  and  hence  the 
office  of  elder  or  that  of  hlifl  went  around  from  one  family 
to  another.  It  became  altogether  different  with  the  devel- 
opment of  the  new  civilization.  In  Semitic  life  and  his- 
tory, as  we  have  had  frequent  occasion  to  observe,  forms 
of  administration  run  perforce  from  one  extreme  to  the 
other.  The  freedom  and  looseness  of  nomadic  govern- 
ment gives  place  almost  at  a  bound  to  the  despotism  of 
city-states  (§  36).  General  society  exhibits  a  similar, 
almost  paradoxical,  contrast.  In  a  settled  and  compara- 
tively civilized  community  like  that  of  Israel,  where  little 
or  no  general  professional  training  was  available,  the  vari- 
ous occupations  (§  484)  became  the  monopoly  of  guilds. 
With  the  accumulation  of  knowledge  and  skill  the  advan- 
tage held  by  the  hereditary  craftsmen  made  these  close 
corporations  a  matter  of  family  propriety  and  privilege. 
Thus  it  was  and  is  notoriously  with  all  the  trades  and 
useful  arts  in  every  settled  community  in  the  Semitic 
world. 

§  570.  In  Israel,  as  we  know,  the  highest  spiritual  as 
well  as  mechanical  employments  were  vested  in  distinct 
families.  The  most  stupendous  example  is  the  priesthood, 
which  was  awarded  successively  to  Aaron,  to  his  family, 
and  finally  to  his  whole  clan  and  tribe.  Nor  was  the  occu- 
pation of  prophet  exempt,  as  the  members  of  that  class 
formed  peripatetic  bands  or  companies  in  the  time  of  the 
Judges  (1  Sam.  x.  5  ff.)  and  were  organized  into  the  well- 
known  guilds  of  "  sons  of  the  Prophets  "  ^  which  played  so 

1  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  that  the  term  "son"  used  in  such 
cases  of  members  of  guilds  or  professions  (§  431 ;  W.  R.  Smith,  Pvophets, 


• 


Cii.  VI,  §  571 


AN  ARISTOCRATIC   CLASS 


195 


large  a  part  in  the  later  history  of  the  kingdom  (1  K.  xx. 
35;  2  K.  ii. ;  iv. ;  v  22;  vi.  1 ;  ix.  1;  cf.  Am.  vii.  14). 
That  the  professions  of  elder  or  judge  should  be  special- 
ized and  differentiated  in  a  similar  manner  was  simply 
inevitable  with  the  increasing  complexity  of  city  life  and 
the  various  functions  which  such  officials  had  to  perform 
(§  486  f.).  We  thus  see  fulfilled  all  the  main  conditions 
tending  to  establish,  consolidate,  and  perpetuate  through- 
out the  realm  of  Israel  families  of  influence,  of  wealth, 
position,  and  professional  prestige.  Add  to  this  a  more 
general  motive  that  dominated  every  Hebrew,  the  desire 
to  maintain  the  family  unimpaired,  and  we  have  the  socio- 
logical basis  of  that  spiritual  and  civil  aristocracy  which 
was  the  moral  controlling  force  of  the  nation. 

§  571.  It  will  not  be  assumed  by  the  reader  that  such 
an  aristocracy  was  at  any  time  very  numerous.  Indeed, 
the  rule  may  apply  in  Israel  that  the  influence  exerted  by 
powerful  families  was  in  inverse  ratio  to  their  number. 
Or,  to  put  it  more  accurately,  class  influence  is  least  when 
the  number  of  well-to-do  families  is  greatest.  When  in 
the  earlier  conditions  none  were  very  rich  and  none  very 
poor  (§  560  f.),  social  influence  in  the  strict  sense  was  at 
its  lowest.  But  the  process  of  selection,  indicated  by  the 
progress  and  the  success  of  the  favoured  families,  went  on 
according  to  clearly  defined  principles.  Long-continued 
possession  of  estates  antecedes  the  accumulation  of  wealth. 
Property  and  social  standing  increase  the  clientele.  Suitors 
as  well  as  dependants  attach  themselves.  The  household 
enlarges  by  affiliation  and  adoption.  A  family  group  ab- 
sorbs or  displaces  rivals  or  collaterals.  Family  connec- 
tion, however  remote,  is  now  highly  prized  and  utilized 
to  the  full.  The  common  ancestral  hero  or  heroes,  act- 
ual or  feigned,  lend  dignity  to   the  whole  connection.^ 

p.  85  ;  388  f.)  is  employed  because  of  the  prevailing  hereditary  character 
of  the  occupation. 

1  Cf.  Meyer,  GA.  II,  §  66,  with  reference  to  the  development  of  early 
Hellenic  families. 


Ii  r 


11 


H  1 

I' 


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! 


ill     \ 


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til 


196 


IMPOVERISHMENT 


Book  VII 


Mutual  aid  to  relatives  and  clients  confirms  the  alli- 
ance. * 

§  572.  With  this  self-aggrandizing  development  of  the 
prosperous  kinship  goes  hand  in  hand  the  decline  of  un- 
appreciated outsiders.  This  deterioration  is  slow  but  sure. 
"  Wealth  accumulates,  and  men  decay."  The  capital  of  the 
country  is  small  and  is  not  being  increased.  There  is  no 
normal  or  continuous  export  trade  to  bring  money  into  the 
country  except  that  of  agricultural  products,  whose  limit 
of  supply  is  speedily  and  early  reached.  When  all  live 
simply  and  frugally,  as  in  the  good  old  days,  there  is 
enough  for  all.  But  luxury  demands  more  than  enough, 
and  always  succeeds  in  getting  it.  Its  success  involves 
the  impoverishment  of  the  common  man.  "  Fiat  money," 
of  no  vJilue  in  any  age  of  the  world  without  money's  worth 
behind  it,  is  not  issued  in  Israel  even  for  temporary  relief. 
War,  famine,  pestilence,  come  upon  the  nation  (cf.  §  264). 
The  concomitant  privation,  suffering,  anxiety,  and  terror 
strike  hardest  upon  the  lower  middle  class  and  the  very 
poor.  Their  lingering  consequences  swell  further  the  roll 
of  the  destitute  and  the  helpless. 

§  573.  The  normal  distribution  of  the  population, 
according  to  wealth,  in  a  fairly  prosperous  community, 
shows  us,  "  a  few  rich ;  a  considerable  number  of  well-to-do ; 
a  large  number  of  busy,  fairly  well-housed,  and  fully  nour- 
ished working  people,  who  are  engaged  in  all  the  arts  of 
life  ;  and  a  moderate  proportion  of  poor."  ^  In  Israel,  the 
last-named  class  became  too  numerous  for  the  welfare  of 
the  state.  Their  case,  and  that  of  the  unfortunate  gen- 
erally, occupies  so  much  space  in  the  national  Hebrew 
literature,  that  it  must  have  formed  a  most  important 
practical  issue  in  the  national  history.  In  giving  to  its 
consideration  the  attention  it  deserves  we  have  contrasted 
it  v;iih  that  of  the  rich  and  powerful.  It  is  necessary  to 
'  o  mrther  and  show  that  the  antithesis  is  more  than  for- 


^  ^.  A.  Atkinson,  The  Industrial  Progress  of  the  Nation,  New  York, 
IbyO,  p.  222. 


5  i'' 


Ch.  VI,  §  575        THE  QUESTION  A  MORAL  ONE 


197 


t  ; 


mal  or  theoretical,  that  a  chasm  had  been  created  between 
the  rich  and  influential  and  the  poor  and  insignificant, 
which  widened  and  deepened  ever  till  it  rived  the  com- 
munity in  twain. 

§  574.  We  must  see  that  the  question  is  fundamentally 
a  moral  one,  like  all  the  greater  issues  of  Hebrew  history. 
The  determining  cause  of  the  social  catastrophe  was  not 
so  much  the  growth  of  a  wealthy  party  whose  affluence 
involved  the  depletion  of  the  masses.  The  question  was 
not  ultimately  one  of  money  and  its  transfer  to  the  coffers 
of  a  few  leading  men.  Such  matters  were  merely  incidental 
to  the  play  of  greater  forces  than  any  known  to  the  material 
world.  Underlying  the  inequality  of  fortune,  and  largely 
accountable  for  it,  was  the  hidden  work  of  evil  tendencies 
and  motives.  What  the  Hebrew  commonwealth  needed 
most  of  all  was  the  conserving  force  of  righteousness 
among  its  leaders.  Character  was  to  it,  as  to  all  element- 
ary communities,  of  more  account  than  outward  possessions. 
Character  could  not,  perhaps,  largely  increase  the  capital 
of  the  people,  but  it  could  conserve  it  and  secure  that  it 
be  wisely  distributed.  All  great  moral  revolutions  either 
spring  from  social  questions  or  are  mainly  promoted  by 
them.  It  is  these  that  bring  out  the  possibilities  of 
human  nature  by  the  stress  and  strain  of  some  of  the 
strongest  and  most  persistent  of  passions  known  to  men  — 
ambition,  emulation,  avarice,  greed.  Thus  it  practically 
has  come  to  pass  that  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  a 
country  may  be  gauged  and  its  fate  forecast  by  the  con- 
dition of  its  proletariat. 

§  575.  Those  who,  in  any  age  or  country,  are  owners 
of  capital,  are  morally  bound  not  to  hoard  it  or  squander  it 
or  increase  it  unduly,  but  so  to  direct  its  employment  —  in 
other  words,  the  work  of  the  toiling  majority  —  so  as  to  ful- 
fil the  end  of  all  labour,  the  furthering  of  the  common 
weal.  In  the  early  days  of  Israel,  before  the  growth  of 
large  cities  and  the  development  of  any  general  trade, 
domestic  or  foreign,  there  were  few  gross  temptations  to 


!      '■'■ 


\l 


i 


i 

m 


i  1 


■;:)! 


I,    1 


198 


INSOLVENCY  AND   USURY 


Book  VII 


do  otherwise  than  what  was  just  or  right  in  this  matter. 
Ordinary  trade  and  exchange  were  very  slight  and  were 
in  the  hands  of  a  few  travelling  merchants  and  market- 
men.  The  landed  proprietors  simply  gave  employment  to 
their  own  retainers  or  liired  servants,  and  it  was  their  in- 
terest to  have  their  employees  well  provided  for.  But  the 
development  of  an  indastrial  and  commercial  population, 
and  the  changes  brought  about  generally  by  the  increase 
of  wealth  and  luxur}-  (§  571  f.),  created  a  large  and  ever- 
increasing  class  of  people  who  were  thrown  sooner  or  later 
upon  the  tender  mercies  of  the  rich.  To  people  in  distress 
in  the  fully  developed  Hebrew  community  there  were  two 
recourses.  One  was  to  sell  some  or  all  the  membei-s  of 
the  family  into  slaverj-.  The  other  was  to  borrow  money 
on  usury.  The  latter  was  ordinarily  the  more  severe 
ordeal  of  the  two.  Its  usual  issue  was  the  beggary  of 
the  debtor,  who  then  became  the  slave  of  the  creditor, 
without  the  chance  of  the  favourable  conditions  available 
in  the  former  case. 

§  576.  Such  consequences  of  extreme  poverty  were  so 
deplorable,  that  to  prevent  them,  the  taking  of  usury  and 
even  of  moderate  interest,  from  any  but  aliens,  was  forbid- 
den by  statute  (Ex.  xxii.  25 ;  Deut.  xxiii.  19  f.).  The  result 
of  the  prohibition  naturally  would  be,  in  a  community  where 
there  was  no  commercial  credit,  that  little  borrowing  of 
money  was  done  at  all,  except  under  galling  necessity. 
Lending  to  the  poor  was,  indeed,  urged  as  a  humane  and 
even  as  a  religious  obligation.  But  lending  either  money 
or  goods,  from  a  sense  of  duty  or  from  pure  benevolence, 
was  not  more  fashionable  even  in  the  best  ages  of  Israel 
than  it  is  now.  Relieving  by  actual  gifts  was  also  directly 
and  indirectly  enjoined  as  a  doty  to  Jehovah  himself.  For 
the  benefit  of  the  poor  it  was  ordained  that  the  cultivated 
land,  the  vineyards  and  olive  yards,  should  lie  fallow  every 
seventh  year  (Ex.  xxiii.  10  f.).  The  Feast  of  Weeks  was 
to  be  a  time  of  general  relief  and  solace  to  the  poor 
(Deut.  xvi.  10  f.).    And  the  tithing  of  every  third  year 


Ch.  VI,  §  578         OLD-TIME  NEIGHBOURLINESS 


199 


was  expressly  set  apart  for  the  help  of  those  who  had  no 
inheritance,  for  "the  stranger,  the  fatherless,  and  the 
widow  "  (Deut.  xiv.  28  f . ;  cf.  xxvi.  12  f. ;  of.  §  552). 

§  577.  In  the  old  purely  agricultural  and  pastoral 
times,  it  was  doubtless  possible  to  relieve  the  wants  of 
the  destitute  without  the  irksome  obligation  of  undue 
self-sacrifice.  In  the  first  place,  the  number  needing  re- 
lief was  comparatively  small.  Again,  the  means  of  relief 
were  near  at  hand,  at  least  for  the  most  obvious  cases. 
Food  was  to  be  had  in  the  well-to-do  neighbour's  grain 
field  or  vineyard,  if  the  beneficiary  would  but  content 
himself  with  merely  gathering  in  the  hands,  or  with  eat- 
ing on  the  spot  all  that  he  might  take  (Deut.  xxiii.  24  f .  ; 
cf.  xxiv.  19).^  These  beneficent  provisions  were  doubtless 
in  many  cases  carried  into  effect,  and  we  may  assume  that 
mendicancy,  which  it  was  their  main  aim  to  prevent,  was 
in  this  age  almost  unknown.^  National  calamities,  of 
which  there  were  many,  were  borne  by  all  classes  alike. 

§  578.  With  the  new  conditions  under  the  kingdom 
(§  521  ff.),  and  the  establishment  of  an  aristocracy  of 
place  and  wealth,  came  the  breaking  of  the  bonds  of 
brotherhood.  The  process  we  cannot  trace  in  detail. 
The  literature  of  the  whole  period  until  the  Exile  reveals 
to  us  these  characteristics  of  the  times  in  both  of  the 
kingdoms :  oppression  of  the  poor ;  the  taking  of  usury ; 
the  disregard  not  merely  of  brotherly  rights,  but  even 
of  the  claims  of  humanity ;  the  practical  abrogation  of 
all  the  kindly  traditions  and  enactments  which  distin- 
guish the  Mosaic  legislation  from  other  ancient  codes. 
Hand  in  hand  with  the  neglect  and  the  abuse  of  the  poor 


l^ 


iiit 


■    '^W 

I'll 


1  These  specific  provisions  are  found  first  in  the  Deuterononiic  code  ; 
but  they  are  exactly  in  the  spirit  of  the  "  Book  of  tlie  Covenant,"  and  are 
doubtless  a  reflex  of  the  best  usage  of  the  early  period. 

2  The  manner  in  which  David's  band  of  "  those  wlio  were  in  debt  or 
distress  "  expected  to  be  relieved  by  Nabal  (1  Sam.  xxv.)  is  an  indication 
of  the  dependence  of  the  one  class  of  the  community  upon  the  other  at  the 
close  of  the  ancient  period.  In  the  times  of  the  established  kingdoms  such 
wholesale  relief  would  be  given  only  to  religious  companies  (2  K.  iv.  42). 


i 


I 


1         I 


ih 


m 


t 
iii 

jif 


200 


ARISTOCRACY  AND  INJUSTICE 


Book  VII 


and  unfortunate  by  the  rich  and  prosperous,  went  the 
abuse  of  justice  in  the  local  and  provincial  courts,  the 
perpetrators  being  often  the  same  in  the  one  case  and  in 
the  other.  We  shall,  to  be  sure,  have  to  beware  of  assum- 
ing that  the  oppression  and  moral  degeneration  were  gen- 
eral. We  must  avoid,  above  all  things,  the  employment 
of  Hebrew  rhetorical  hyperbole  in  a  calm  historical  re- 
view. But  we  shall  fnid,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  that  this 
was  the  great  theme  and  burden  of  the  prophetical  and 
poetical  literature,  which  constitutes  the  centre  and  heart 
of  the  Old  Testament.  By  registering  the  counts  in  this 
long  and  solemn  indictment  of  the  responsible  men  in  Israel, 
we  shall  learn,  as  we  can  in  no  other  way,  the  secret  of  the 
social  and  moral  struggle,  whose  issue  was  to  be  the  eter- 
nal enthronement  of  freedom,  righteousness,  and  mercy. 

§  579.  The  abuses  that  shattered  the  framework  of 
Hebrew  society  may  be  divided  into  the  general  cate- 
gories of  private  and  public  wrong-doing,  though  it  will 
naturally  be  difficult  to  distinguish  sharply  between  the 
two  classes.  The  most  obvious  and  serious  evils  which 
would  come  under  the  latter  group,  corruption  and  in- 
justice among  the  judges  and  the  officers  of  the  court, 
are  so  closely  interwoven  with  the  whole  social  fabric, 
that  we  can  hardly  make  anything  more  than  a  formal 
distinction  in  their  presentation.  In  taking  our  survey  of 
this  tragic  and  memorable  season,  we  shall  have  to  range 
freely  over  the  literature  of  Israel.  We  shall  have  to  bring 
under  one  rubric  the  most  various  forms  and  styles :  — 

"  The  statesman's  great  word 
Side  by  side  with  the  poet's  sweet  comment."  ^ 

For  lawgiver,  prophet,  psalmist,  and  moralist  alike  agonized 
with  the  burden  that  was  crushing  the  life  of  the  nation 
and  breaking  its  heart. 

§  580.  We  may  begin  with  the  most  fundamental  insti- 
tution, the  ownership  of  land  and  fixed  property.     If  it 


1  Browning,  Saul,  xiii. 


On.  VI,  §  581     JEHOVAH  THE  OWNER  OF  THE  LAND 


201 


was  a  recognized  principle  that  every  person,  or  rather 
every  family,'  should  be  the  independent  possessor  of  a 
freehold  in  land  (§  506),  it  follows  that  any  attempt  to 
deprive  the  proprietors  of  their  holdings  was  an  encroach- 
ment on  such  a  right.  The  Hebrew  theory  of  the  matter 
is  characteristic.  It  might  fairly  be  argued  in  a  given  case 
that  the  dispossession  of  the  owners  was  accomplished 
under  tlie  forms  and  with  the  sanction  of  consuetudinary 
law,  and  that  therefore  it  could  not  be  wrong.  The  plea 
would  not  satisfy  a  true  Hebrew  publicist.  He  would  be 
ready  with  the  reply  that  the  transfer  might  have  been 
made,  as  in  the  case  of  a  foreclosed  mortgage,  according 
to  the  terms  of  an  explicit  covenant,  and  yet  it  would  be 
illegal,  because  it  would  conflict  with  a  higher  proprietor- 
ship. The  owner  of  the  land,  while  a  freeholder,  was  yet 
a  tenant.  He,  to  be  sure,  did  not  pay  any  rent,  as  his  own 
retainers  never  paid  rent  to  him,  such  a  system  being  un- 
known to  this  stage  of  social  development.  He  as  the  head 
of  his  "  family  "  was  a  tenant  of  the  Owner  of  the  soil. 

§  581.  The  land  had  not  been  held  communistically ; 
hence  the  proprietor  was  not  responsible  to  the  community, 
whether  family  group,  or  clan,  or  tribe,  or  nation.  Nor 
was  it  the  property  of  the  king,  to  whom  the  holder  was  to 
pay  an  annual  tribute  or  tax  for  its  use,  as  in  ancient  Egypt 
and  modern  India.  No ;  the  land  had  been  seized  in  the 
name  of  Jehovah,  and  was  thenceforth  administered  for 
him.  True,  "the  earth  was  Jehovah's  and  its  contents, 
the  world  and  the  dwellers  therein."  But  "Jehovah's 
land  "  in  a  special  sense  was  the  soil  which  liis  people  cul- 
tivated, whose  produce  was  dedicated  to  him,  where  his 
altars  were  reared,  and  his  name  continually  invoked. 
The  occupant  of  any  portion  of  that  soil  accordingly  stood 
in  the  closest  of  relations  to  him ;  and  the  alienation  of 
such  property  by  fraud  or  violence  was  not  simply  wrong 
done  to  the  immediate  cultivator,  but  despite  against  the 

1  Comp.  W.  H.  Bennett,  "Economic  Conditions  of  the  Hebrew  Mon- 
archy" in  The  Thinker,  vol.  Ill  (1893),  p.  128. 


t     !' 


tiii 


I 


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:;| 

:    I 


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^     : 


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1 

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i; 

:  ■ 

S 

i       i     i 

IL 

■i. 

202 


TESTIMONY  AS  TO  SPOLIATION 


Book  VII 


supreme,  ultimate  Lord  of  the  land,  with  whom  the  soil 
itself  and  his  true  worshippers  were  indissolubly  united. 
Hence  the  sacrilege  and  impiety  of  land-grabbing  and  kin- 
dred practices. 

§  582.  From  this  point  of  view  we  can  now  understand 
the  motive  of  the  provision  for  the  destitute,  the  fatherless, 
and  the  stranger,  made  from  the  superfluity  of  the  prosper- 
ous man's  estate  (§  576)  The  poor  and  even  the  guests 
in  Jehovah's  land  (§  552)  are  the  subjects  of  his  care,  and 
entitled  to  a  share  of  what  the  soil  brings  forth  under 
Jehovah's  nurture.  That  is  to  say,  if  the  occupant  has 
rights  against  any  intruder  because  he  is  Jehovah's  tenant^ 
he  has  also  obligations  to  the  wards  of  the  nation,  because 
he  is,  after  all,  only  Jehovah's  trustee. 

§  583.  How  large  this  twofold  obligation  loom>^  before 
the  open-eyed  reader  of  the  Old  Testament!  A  curse  is 
pronounced  upon  him  "  who  removes  liis  neighbour's  land- 
mark," or  boundary  stone  (Deut.  xxvii.  17).  This  simply 
follows  up  an  explicit  command  based  upon  the  plea  that  it 
is  a  landmark  "  which  they  of  old  time  have  set "  (Deut. 
xix.  14).  Unlike  some  of  the  injunctions  of  the  Mosaic 
code,  which  had  no  discoverable  practical  application  in  the 
lives  and  manners  of  the  people,  this  provision  finds  an  echo 
in  the  most  popular  elements  of  the  national  literature. 
Thus,  in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  the  prescription  of  the  law 
is  repeated  with  the  same  plea  annexed  (Prov.  xxii.  28). 
And  the  whole  case  is  presented  besides  in  memorable 
words :  "  Remove  not  the  old-time  landmark ;  and  into  the 
fields  of  the  fatherless  do  not  intrude.  For  their  God  is 
mighty;  he  will  plead  their  cause  against  thee"  (Prov. 
xxiii.  10  f.).  But  it  is  when  the  matter  comes  within  the 
cognizance  of  the  Prophets  that  its  full  significance  is 
revealed.  In  the  Northern  Kingdom  the  expropriation  of 
Naboth,  accomplished  by  his  judicial  murder  (1  K.  xxi. 
1-16),  rises,  under  the  moral  indignation  of  Elijah,  to  the 
dignity  of  a  national  tragedy,  whose  catastrophe  is  the 
death  of  the  offenders,  inflicted  with  poetic  justice,  and 


Cii.  VI,  §  584 


LOANS   AND  PLEDGES 


203 


tlie  subversion  of  tlieir  dynasty  (2  K.  ix.  24  ff.).  In  the 
kingdom  of  Judali,  in  spitu  of  its  moral  advantages  (§  271, 
270  f.),  the  evil  became  rampant  and  intolerable.  Tlie  two 
prophets  of  the  close  of  the  period  now  under  review  place 
it  in  the  forefront  of  the  ini(|uities  which  excite  the  dis- 
pleasure of  Jehovah  and  presage  the  ruin  of  the  state ;  which 
bring,  moreover,  desolation  upon  the  inheritances  that  have 
been  increased  by  assiduous  plotting,  unscrupulous  usurpa- 
tion, and  insatiable  greed  (Isa.  v.  8  ff. ;  Mic.  ii.  1  ff.). 

§  584.  Of  the  processes  by  which  such  rapacity  secured 
its  nefarious  ends,  we  are  not  particularly  informed.  We 
are,  however,  justified  in  including  therein  many  of  the 
special  forms  of  evil  which  make  up  the  burden  of  the  end- 
less complaints  of  those  who  were  set  for  the  defence  of  the 
oppressed  and  for  the  salvation  of  Israel.  For  inasmuch 
as  personal  possessions  were  an  indispensable  condition  of 
the  nurture  and  survival  of  the  family,  their  alienation  was 
the  cardinal  social  wrong,  the  most  comprehensive  form  of 
civic  calamity.  We  may  therefore  imagine  that  the  loan 
of  money  upon  "  usury  "  and  with  "  pledges"  resulted,  in  a 
multitude  of  cases,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  the  loss  of  the 
precious  patrimony  of  house  and  field.  Personal  security 
by  a  pawn  was  extremely  common  from  the  earliest  history 
of  Israel  (Gen.  xxxviii.  17  ff.).  Its  employment  in  the 
most  trivial  transactions  shows  better  than  anything  else 
the  rudimentary  character  of  business  dealings  and  meth- 
ods, and  at  the  same  time  that  appreciation  of  property 
which  has  always  distinguislied  the  Hebrew  raoe.  In  ordi- 
nary transactions  its  tendency  was  to  gradual  impoverish- 
ment. A  society  Avhere  the  most  common  form  of  pledge 
was  one's  upper  raiment,  which  served  tlie  borrower  for  his 
night-covering  (Ex.  xxii.  26  f. ;  Deut.  xxiv.  10  ff.,  17),^  and 

1  Notice  that  in  Deut.  xxiv.  the  word  "  pledge"  (v.  10)  is  explained  by 
"garment"  (v.  Vi)  which  had  not  previously  been  mentioned.  This  is 
evidence  that  the  movable  property  possessed  by  the  majority  of  debtors 
consisted  of  what  was  absolutely  necessary  for  life,  and  nothing  besides, 
else  it  would  be  given  iiji  pledge  instead  of  raiment  (cf.  xxiv.  C). 


I" 


■  I 


I 


1 

i 

1  : 

1 

-      if 

Jl 

i»i| 

L 

i 

204 


tup:  lot  of  the  debtor 


Book  VII 


•  I'l 


1 


in  which  at  the  same  time  a  taste  for  fine  and  showy  rai- 
ment was  indigenous,^  must  have  contained  a  large  percen- 
tage of  the  miserably  poor.^  The  poetical  and  prophetical 
writers  of  all  periods  show,  from  their  several  points  of 
view,  how  the  number  was  increased  and  how  the  poor 
were  made  poorer,  by  the  merciless  enforcement  of  the 
pawnbroker's  claim  (Job  xxii.  6 ;  xxiv.  3 ;  cf .  Prov.  xx. 
16 ;  xxvii.  13 ;  Amos  ii.  8 ;  Ezek.  xviii.  7, 12, 16 ;  xxxiii.  15). 
Such  experiences  on  the  part  of  the  indigent  led  inevitably 
in  very  many  cases  to  the  last  stage  of  distress,  —  the 
alienation  of  the  family  domain.  This  left  the  hapless  vic- 
tim homeless  and  helpless.  The  only  recourse  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  life  of  his  household  was  servitude,  with 
little  or  no  hope  of  release  at  the  end  of  the  seventh  year,^ 
in  spite  of  the  enactments  of  the  Mosaic  law. 

§  585.  From  these  and  many  other  tokens  it  becomes 
clear  that  for  the  common  man  in  Israel  it  was  often  a 
great  question  not  simply  how  he  was  to  make  a  living, 
but  how  he  was  to  maintain  his  personal  freedom.  The 
first  serious  misfortune  of  life  —  so  easily  occasioned  by 
sickness,  or  tlie  failure  of  crops,  or  a  raid  from  over  the 
border,  or  the  knavery  or  trespass  of  a  dishonest  neigh- 
bour—  was  to  many  a  one  a  sentence  to  life-long  servitude. 
Statutes  had  been  made  for  the  relief  of  the  debtor  or  for 
the  mitigation  of  his  lot.  And  yet  his  condition  often 
became  practically  hopeless.     While  hard  for  himself,  it 

1  Comp.  Van  Lennep,  Bible  Lands,  their  modern  Customs  and  Man- 
ners illustrative  of  Scripture,  New  York,  1876,  p.  607  f. ;  Nowack,  HA.  p. 
124  f.,  128  ft. 

^  The  Prophet's  liabit  of  uutanned  leather  was  doubtless  not  merely  a 
protest  against  extravagance  and  display  in  costume,  but  also  an  expres- 
sion of  sympathy  with  the  poor  and  their  plain  attire  (cf.  2  K.  i.  8  and 
Matt.  iii.  4  ;  vii.  16  and  xi.  8  ;  Luke  vii.  25). 

•'  The  fact  that  no  mention  i.s  made  of  such  release  of  bondmen  till 
the  very  close  of  the  Judaic  kingdom  ( Jer.  xxxiv.)  is  presumptive  evidence 
that  the  merciful  provisions  of  Ex,  xxi,  2,  Dent.  xv.  12,  were  more  honoured 
ill  tlie  breach  than  in  the  observance.  Moreover,  Jer.  xxxiv.  14  expressly 
■says  of  the  Deuteronomic  statute :  "  Your  fathers  hearkened  not  unto  me, 
neither  inclined  their  ear." 


Cii.  VI,  §  586     EXTENT  AND  SOURCE  OF  THE  EVIL 


205 


id 

y 


was  apt  to  be  still  harder  for  his  children.  A  case  is  cited 
as  though  it  was  an  e very-day  occurrence  (2  K.  iv.  1  ff.). 
A  God-fearing  man  of  the  time  of  Elisha  had  died  when 
in  pecuniary  difficulties.  His  widow  is  confronted  by 
"the  creditor,"  who  seizes  her  sons  to  make  them  his 
slaves.  Against  tlie  tyrant  there  is  no  redress.  All  that 
is  left  to  the  sympathetic  prophet  is  to  procure  for  her  the 
means  of  satisfying  his  claim.  A  similar  instance  appears 
to  be  alluded  to  as  typical  in  the  prophetic  style  (Mic.  ii.  9), 
with  the  additional  horror  that  the  children  are  sold  out 
of  Jehovah's  land.  The  custom  of  selling  the  persons  of 
debtors  is  so  common  that  it  is  used  as  the  basis  of  a  wide- 
reaching  metaphor  (Isa.  1.  1).  And  the  historical  picture 
of  a  much  later  time  (Neli.  v.  3  ff.),  which  shows  us  a 
wholesale  seizure  of  estates  by  usurious  creditors,  was 
doubtless  but  an  extension  under  favouring  circumstances 
of  a  system  which  prevailed  in  the  days  of  the  kingdom  in 
many  localities  within  a  wider  territory. 

§  586.  A  question  naturally  arises.  How  were  such 
exactions  and  oppressions  habitual,  or  at  any  time  possible 
or  consistent  with  the  humanitarian  spirit  (cf.  §  546  f.)  which 
was  an  outgrowth  of  the  higher  life  of  Israel?  It  is  not 
sufficient  to  say  that  the  ameliorating  or  prohibitive  pro- 
visions of  the  legal  codes  were  merely  idealizing  schemes 
without  practical  significance.  They  were  devised  to 
remedy  evils  already  gross  and  noxious,  and  only  second- 
arily to  prevent  possible  moral  degeneration.  The  "  Book 
of  the  Covenant "  and  the  Deuteronomic  code,  which  su1> 
stantially  agree,  as  our  citations  have  shown,  in  their 
treatment  of  the  land  and  labour  question,  were,  to  be  sure, 
apparently  never  actually  canonized  into  the  statute  law 
either  of  the  tribal  or  of  the  monarchical  regime.'     Yet 

1  The  opinion  that  all  the  minute  regulations  of  the  Pcntateuclial  codes 
could  liave  been  put  in  force  as  part  of  the  jiuliciai  administration  of 
Israel  hnplies  a  misunderstanding  of  Oriental  government,  and  indeed  of 
ancient  society  generally.  So  much  was  possible  as  the  social  and  moral 
development  of  the  ruling  classes  of  the  people  was  able  to  adapt  and  util- 


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ii  ;> 


206 


NO  PUBLIC  CONSCIENCE 


Book  VII 


they  were  known  and  urged  upon  both  king  and  people 
by  the  ministera  of  Jehovah.  And  their  letter  and  spirit 
alike  would  have  prevailed  against  the  selfish  and  per- 
nicious practices  of  the  rich  and  powerful,  were  it  not  for 
another  great  and  evil  feature  of  Hebrew  life  and  morals, 
whose  consideration  brings  us  from  the  category  of  private 
into  that  of  public  wrongs  (§  579). 

•§  587.  The  essential  evil  was  that  there  was  no  potent 
public  conscience,  educated  by  frugality,  self-denial,  and 
the  fear  of  God,  alive  to  the  needs  of  the  suffering  and 
the  unfortunate,  and  alert  to  provide  a  remedy.  We  have 
spoken  of  the  responsibility  and  influence  of  a  king  in 
Israel  (§  534,  559).  But  even  in  an  Oriental  monarchy 
the  king  was  the  product  of  the  state.  The  public  that 
was  behind  him,  as  it  is  behind  all  rulers  in  any  type  of 
society,  was  that  to  which  he  listened,  that  which  man- 
aged his  revenues,  which  proffered  him  counsel,  which 
carried  out  his  commands,  well-reasoned  or  whimsical,  and 
which  kept  him  in  good  humour  generally  (Hos.  vii.  3). 
He  could  only  be  influenced  by  those  who  had  his  ear; 
and  they,  as  a  rule,  were  the  courtiers,  the  nobles,  the 
judges,  and  the  central  priesthood.  If  we  wish  to  learn 
the  why  and  wherefore  of  the  fate  of  moral  movements  in 
ancient  Israel,  it  is  to  these  we  must  look  for  the  explana- 
tion (cf.  §  533,  559). 

§  588.  The  prosperity  and  comfort  of  the  masses  in 
Israel  were  not  merely  checked  by  the  natural  disad- 
vantages under  which  they  laboured  in  the  struggle 
for  existence.  The  special  disabilities  above  described 
would  in  any  case  have  been  removed  if  there  had  been 
a  righteous,  independent  court  of  justice  to  which  the 
sufferers  could  appeal.  The  absence  of  such  tribunals 
was  the  chief  organic  vice  or  defect  in  the  constitution  of 
Israel,  as  it  was  certainly  the  foulest  blot  upon  its  historic 
reputation.     To  whom  would  one  in  difficulties  appeal  in 

ize,  and  nothing  more.  Utopia  is  not  to  be  found  eitlier  in  the  beginning, 
or  middle,  or  end  of  the  history  of  Israel. 


f  i 


Cii.  VI,  §  589 


THE   PRIESTS  AS  JUDGES 


207 


his  trouble  ?  In  the  okleii  times,  to  the  head  of  his  clan, 
or  to  the  elder  of  his  "  city,"  or,  above  all,  to  his  priest.^ 
The  last-named  had  this  great  advantage  over  the  other 
dispensers  of  justice,  that  he  was  naturally  resorted  to  in 
any  case  for  the  consecration  of  flesh  and  wine  and  the 
fruits  of  the  earth,  as  well  as  for  the  offering  of  stated 
sacrifices,  and  for  the  still  higher  function  of  speaking 
in  the  name  of  Jehovah.  Granting  that  the  priests  were 
usually  invoked  merely  in  questions  of  propriety  or  riglit, 
not  involving  pains  and  penalties  (§  488),  it  will  appear 
what  an  enormous  influence  they  must  have  wielded  in 
the  domestic  and  social  economy  of  the  people.  Modern 
parallels  of  sacerdotalism  suggest  themselves.  But  these 
can  give  only  a  faint  idea  of  the  power  of  the  priesthood 
in  a  community  where  little  or  no  distinction  was  made 
between  the  sacred  and  the  secular  in  any  of  the  affairs  of 
life  (cf.  §  61  f.,  397). 

§  589.  What  such  functionaries  were  likely  to  do  in 
the  administration  of  justice  after  the  establishment  of  the 
central  shrines  in  the  times  preceding  the  monarchy,  we 
may  infer  from  the  example  of  the  sons  of  Eli,  notorious 
for  greed  and  dishonesty,  as  well  as  licentiousness  (1  Sam. 
ii.  12  ff.).  We  may  well  believe  that  with  the  establish- 
ment of  higher  civil  powers  under  the  monarchy  the 
relative  judicial  influence  and  activity  of  the  priests 
would  be  seriously  abated.  Yet  it  necessarily  remained 
a  perpetual  function  of  the  priest  to  give  decisions  from 
Jehovah.  How  this  was  done  at  the  close  of  our  period 
we  learn  from  Micah  (iii.  11),  who  declares  that  in  his  day 
they  did  so  "  for  money,"  while  Isaiah  denounces  them  for 
giving  unreliable  or  "vacillating"  decisions  (xxviii.  7). 
So  much  for  the  kingdom  of  Judah.  For  the  priests  of 
the  Northern  Kingdom,  not  long  before  its  fall,  we  have 
the  arraignment  of  Hosea  (iv.  4  ff.).  From  the  ministers 
of  the  local  shrines  of  Northern  Israel  no  high  standard  of 

1  Cf.  Kuenen,  National  Religions  and  Universal  Eeligions  (Hibbert 
Lectures),  New  York,  1882,  p.  80  ff. 


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208 


THE   LOCAL  JUDGES 


Book  VII 


morals  was  to  be  expected.  But  it  is  mainly  the  priests 
of  the  central  sanctuary  at  Jerusalem  that  Isaiah  and 
Micah  have  in  view.  That  these  functionaries  kept  up 
the  worst  traditions  of  their  profession  in  still  later  times 
we  learn  from  Zephaniah  (iii.  4)  and  Jeremiah  (vi.  13 ; 
viii.  10).  Last  of  all,  Malachi,  in  a  withering  indictment, 
accuses  them  of  "respect  of  persons"  in  giving  their 
decisions  ^  (ii.  8  f.). 

§  590.  Or  the  man  with  a  grievance  might  resort  to 
the  local  judges,  either  directly  or  on  appeal  from  his 
natural  family  head,  or  the  elders  of  his  city.  He  would, 
indeed,  be  apt  to  do  so  in  a  matter  of  urgency  (cf.  Luke 
xviii.  2  ff.).  For,  while  the  judicial  function  of  the  priest 
ended  with  the  giving  of  the  decision,  the  judge  possessed 
in  addition  the  executive  power.  Indeed,  this  must  have 
been  the  cardinal  distinction  between  the  two  classes. 
The  priests  (and  prophets),  by  the  very  nature  of  their 
office,  were  revealers  of  the  will  or  counsel  of  "  the 
highest  God "  (Gen.  xiv.  18),  while  the  "  judge "  was 
primarily  rather  a  "  regulator  "  (cf.  §  51)  than  an  arbitra- 
tor. Hence  the  execution  of  his  own  sentence  is  com- 
mitted to  the  judge  (Dent.  xxv.  1  ff.).  In  general,  among 
"judges"  no  distinction  was  d-"wn  between  the  judicial 
and  the  executive  function.  Nor  can  we  speak  of  various 
classes  of  courts,  such  as  higher  or  lower,  of  appellate  or 
of  concurrent  jurisdiction.  One  might  apply  to  any  rec- 
ognized authority  near  at  hand  (cf.  §  486,  note).  So, 
also,  an  aggrieved  person  might  pass  over  the  lower  local 
official  and  apply  for  redress  directly  to  the  king  himself 


1  I  scarcely  need  to  include  the  order  of  Prophets  among  the  officials 
charged  with  judicial  functions.  For,  though  they  frequently  gave  de- 
cisions upon  important  matters,  they  did  not  act  so  much  for  individuals 
as  for  communities.  Nor  did  they  decide  matters  of  practical  controversy 
so  much  as  announce  proper  plans  of  action  in  emergency  or  principles  of 
the  divine  government.  Notice  that  in  the  instance  cited  above  (§  aSS) 
Elisha  does  not  venture  to  act  as  judge,  nor  even  to  intercede  for  the  vic- 
tim of  oppression.  Tiie  prophets  were  often,  however,  venal  and  partial, 
like  the  priests,  in  their  proper  sphere. 


Ch.  VI,  §  592         NO  riXP:D  JUDICIAL   SYSTEM 


209 


(1  K.  iii.  16  ff.),  or  to  the  officers  of  his  court  as  his  re^  -e- 
sentatives. 

§  591.  We  must  accordingly  beware  of  supposing  that 
there  were  fixed  grades  of  judicial  officers  with  well-defined 
duties  for  the  several  ranks.  Such  a  thing  is  foreign  to 
the  Semitic  genius,  which  does  not  organize  or  classify  in 
any  department  of  civic  life,  except  where  a  powerful  cor- 
poration has  been  self-developed,  or  where  the  very  exist- 
ence of  the  state  demands  a  well-arranged  division  of 
functions.  There  were  three  spheres  of  public  activity  in 
which  some  sort  of  gradation  was  made  for  these  reasons. 
These  were  the  priesthood,  the  military,  and  the  officers 
of  the  revenue.  From  the  last  two  classes  the  king  drew 
the  greater  number  of  his  chosen  counsellors.  In  judicial 
affairs,  just  as  reliance  for  practical  guidance  was  placed 
mainly  upon  consuetudinary  law,  so  seniority  of  rank  was 
a  matter  of  hereditary  position,  of  wealth,  or  of  favour  with 
the  court.  Hence  looseness  in  procedure  and  an  absence 
of  the  sense  of  responsibility  were  inherent  in  the  order 
of  judges  in  Israel. 

§  592.  Such  conditions  as  these  gave  free  play  to  the 
deadly  vices  that  were  fostered  in  the  bosom  of  society. 
If  the  supreme  rulers  of  Israel  had  appreciated  as  well  as 
did  the  Prophets  the  vital  importance  to  the  state  of  a 
sound  judicial  system,  doubtless  some  sort  of  reform  of 
methods  as  well  as  of  principles  might  have  been  attempted. 
But  here,  again,  we  see  the  working  out  of  underlying 
national  and  racial  tendencies.  Slowly  and  imperceptibly, 
but  with  terrible  certainty,  men  reap  what  they  sow  in 
the  indivisible  spheres  of  government  and  social  morality. 
In  an  earlier  chapter  it  was  pointed  out  (§  450  ff.)  that  the 
beginnings  of  judicial  administration  were  of  an  element- 
ary character,  and  that  they  were  not  matters  of  divine 
revelation,  which  concerned  itself  with  principles  of  con- 
duct and  not  with  the  creation  of  civil  institutions.  The 
cureless  or  patient  acquiescence  in  the  mere  survival 
of    outworn    customs,   and    the    indolent    adaptation   of 


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210 


CENTRALIZATION   (JF   AUTHORITY 


Book  VII 


ancient  usages  to  new  and  complex  conditions,  made  the 
judicial  system  of  Israel  what  it  was  in  the  days  of 
the  kingdom.  These  did  not  constitute  "a  crime  for 
the  judges  "  (Job  xxxi.  11).  But  they  prepared  the  way 
for  the  most  flagrant  abuses  and  for  the  inward  decay  of  the 
nation.  We  see,  indeed,  that  great  changes  went  on  in 
certain  directions,  notably  in  the  j^^fi^oniiel  of  the  ministers 
of  justice.  With  the  ever-increasing  centralization  that 
marked  the  history  of  the  kingdom,  the  officers  of  the 
court,  or  the  "princes"  appointed  by  the  king,  gained  in 
authority  and  in  range  of  jurisdiction,  while  the  local 
magistrates,  I'olding  an  hereditary  or  an  elective  office, 
proportion?'  '"  declined.  But  the  change  only  brought 
deteriorativ^u  ms*  •  '  oi  progress,  as  it  increased  the  oppor- 
tunities of  thf,  ibu:.  of  power  and  of  self-aggrandizement 
on  the  part  of  the  central  authorities.  With  these  con- 
siderations in  1  ;:id  ve  fiai^  't  easy  enough  to  fall  in  with 
the  counsel:  "Where  thou  .sccit  the  oppression  of  the 
poor  man,  and  the  violent  taking  away  of  justice  and 
righteousness  in  the  state,  do  not  marvel  thereat"  (Eccl. 
V.  8).  And  we  may  trace  the  evil  not  merely  to  its  direct 
occasion,  the  false  passions  of  men,  but  also  to  the  pre- 
scriptive system,  which  encouraged  all  sorts  of  disorders  in 
the  unfortunate  body  politic. 

§  593.  But  to  return  to  the  actual  facts  of  the  situation 
in  the  most  critical  times  of  Israel's  history.  No  region 
of  Hebrew  life  is  so  thoroughly  illustrated  for  us  by  com- 
petent observers  as  the  si^here  of  the  administration  of 
justice.  And  upon  none  has  such  unqualified  condemna- 
tion fallen.  Those  Avho  cared  most  for  justice,  and  most 
for  the  essential  welfare  of  the  state  —  the  historians, 
prophets,  moralists,  hymn-writers,  who  have  left  their  im- 
pressions, and  who  were  most  likely  to  know  the  truth  and 
to  set  it  in  its  true  relations  —  unite  in  stern  rebuke  and 
bitter  invective,  so  unreserved  and  so  persistent  that  it 
forms  of  itself  the  most  extensive  moral  rubric  in  the 
literature   of   Israel.     There  is  no  space  to  present  the 


11^ 


Ch.  VI,  §  694 


PRESENTS   AND  BRIBES 


8U 


matter  adequately.     The  following  analysis  may  serve  as 
a  general  characterization. 

§  594.  The  most  frequent  and  virulent  source  of  the 
abuse  of  justice  was  the  venality  of  its  ministers,  whether 
local  judges  or  the  "  princes  "  of  the  court.  To  a  casual 
observer  of  Oriental  life  the  prevailing  ofiHcial  corruption 
is  something  appalling.  To  the  close  inquirer  it  seems 
indicjenous  and  inevitable.  To  the  true  servants  of 
Jehovah  it  was  appalling,  but  neither  inherent  nor  neces- 
sary. It  was  rather  an  exotic  growtli,  or  a  twist  aside 
from  the  true  bent  of  Israel's  development.  When  we 
consider  the  social  and  governmental  encouragements  to 
laxity  and  neglect  (§  592),  and,  still  further,  the  seductive 
moral  atmosphere  in  which  the  leaders  of  the  people 
moved,  we  shall  marvel  at  the  moral  courage  of  the 
Prophets  in  opposing  the  dominant  evil.  We  must  also 
admire  their  insight  in  discerning  its  essential  relations  to 
society,  and  their  ideality  in  conceiving  the  possibility  of 
its  being  discarded  anywhere  in  the  Semitic  world.  One 
illustration  may  suffice.  The  common  word  for  a  "  bribe  " 
(nnr)  is,  properly  speaking,  a  "present,"  and  is  used  of 
the  propitiatory  gifts  sent  to  a  superior  in  order  to  secure 
his  protection  (1  K.  xv.  19 ;  2  K.  xvi.  8),  or  by  one  who 
seeks  to  evade  deserved  punishment  (Prov.  vi.  35 ;  cf. 
xxi.  14).  A  similar  combination  of  meanings  is  shown  by 
a  less  common  term  (n:na;  cf.  Gen.  xxv.  6  with  Prov. 
XV.  27 ;  Eccl.  vii.  7).  That  is  to  say,  a  present  is  for  the 
most  part  a  sort  of  bribe.  The  one  meaning  leads  up  to 
the  other  by  a  sort  of  social  necessity.  Presents  are  the 
ordinary  preliminaries  of  visits  and  negotiations.  Their 
motive  and  effect  naturally  comes  to  be  the  influencing  of 
the  beneficiary  (Prov.  xvii.  8 ;  xviii.  16).  Citations  of 
instances  from  Oriental  or  Biblical  history  would  simply 
overcrowd  my  pages.  Wherever  and  whenever  we  get  a 
glimpse  of  the  inner  movements  of  Semitic  society  we  find 
the  custom  and  the  motive.  We  shall  only  cite  further 
Jacob's  gift  to  Esau  (Gen.  xxxii.  13 ;  xxxiii.  10 ;  cf.  xliii. 


ay 


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212 


THE   EVIL  IN  LITERATURE 


Book  VII 


I  ■!: ' 


If'i' 


11;  1  Sam.  x.  27;  Ps.  xlv.  12)  and  the  present  of  Meio- 
dacli-baladan  to  Hezekiah  (Isa.  xxxix.  1 ;  §  637,  679).  In 
general  Semitic  history  we  may  go  back  some  hundreds  of 
years,  and  in  the  casually  dLsclosed  correspondence  of  the 
El  Amarna  tablets  the  Vjusiness  is  seen  to  be  quite  over- 
done (§  149  f.).  The  annals  of  the  Assyrian  kings  fairly 
swarm  with  instances.  It  is,  therefore,  the  most  natural 
thing  in  the  world  to  send  a  present  to  a  judge  before  a 
case  comes  up  for  hearing;  though  publicity  was,  of 
course,  not  desirable  in  the  transaction  (Prov.  xxi.  14), 
and  was  usually  avoided,  as  a  suggestive  proverb  informs 
us  (Prov.  xvii.  23).  Onlj-  public  opinion  frowning  down 
upon  open  and  shameful  corruption,  or  the  spectacle  of 
judges  repudiating  any  sort  of  approach  from  the  side  of  a 
litigant,  would  seem  likely  to  discredit  the  custom. 

§  595.  The  evil,  indeed,  wa?  dealt  with  by  the  lawgiver 
of  the  ancient  code,  and  that  in  the  most  reasonable  and 
persuasive  fashion :  "  Thou  shalt  take  no  bribe ;  for  a 
bribe  blindeth  those  that  have  sight,  and  perverteth  the 
cause  of  the  righteous  '*  (Ex.  xxiii.  8 ;  cf.  Deut.  xvi.  19). 
Yet  the  abuse  was  prevalent  in  the  time  of  the  Judges. 
In  spite  of  the  noble  record  and  example  of  Samuel,  his 
sons,  judges  by  his  own  appointment,  became  notoriously 
venal  (1  Sam.  viii.  1  ff.).  Samuel's  protest  and  challenge  ^ 
on  his  own  behalf  (1  Sara.  xii.  3  £f.),  were  of  themselves 
an  indication  that  his  Anrtues  were  rare.  We  may  learn 
something  of  the  processes  of  civil  justice  under  the 
kingdom  by  consulting  the  Prophets.  For  the  Northern 
Kingdom  Amos  asserts  (v.  12)  that  bribery  was  a  preva- 
lent evil  of  his  time.  For  Judah  and  Jerusalem  Isaiah 
cries  aloud  (i.  23;  v.  23;  x.  1),  and  his  contempo- 
rary Micah  sets  forth  the  paradox  that  judge,  priest, 
and  prophet  alike  are  greedy  and  corrupt  and  yet  pro- 

1  Samuel's  custom  of  taking  a  small  fee  or  "  present "  for  giving  coun- 
sel from  Jehovah,  doubtless  followed  by  other  "seers"  of  the  period 
(1  Sam.  ix.  7  ff.),  was  of  a  different  nature ;  but  it  was  a  practice  very 
easily  abused. 


j|: 


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--•  --MMt^  -trmm 


=1^ 


Ch.  VI,  §  596 


CONCOMITANT   EVILS 


218 


claim  their  trust  in  Jehovah  (iii.  5,  11).  He  lets  us 
also  into  the  inner  methods  of  those  betrayers  of  the 
people  (vii.  3).i  Ezekiel's  arraignment  (xxii.  12  f.)  is  a 
review  of  the  history  of  the  kingdom.  The  long-continued 
prevalence  of  the  abuse  is  perhaps  best  shown  by  the  large 
place  given  to  it  in  the  proverbial  literature  of  the  nation 
(Prov.  XV.  27  ;  xvii.  8,  23 ;  xviii.  16 ;  xxi.  14 ;  xxv.  14). 
The  final  deliverance  on  the  subject  refers  to  the  corrup- 
tion practised  by  the  king  himself.  This  alone,  it  is  de- 
clared, is  sufficient  to  undermine  and  ruin  the  state  (Prov. 
xxix.  4).  We  are  brought  into  a  somewhat  different  region 
when  we  turn  to  the  lyrical  poetry  of  the  Hebrews.  Here 
it  is  not  the  preacher  of  righteousness  thundering  out  the 
judgment,  nor  the  philosophical  observer  pointing  the 
moral.  It  is  rather  the  sympathetic  partisan  of  the  out- 
raged and  oppressed,  who  voices  their  wrongs  and  their 
sufferings,  and  brings  them  into  relation  with  the  practical 
claims  of  religion  upon  both  the  transgressors  and  their 
victims  (Ps.  xv.  5;  xxi  v.  4;  xxvi.  10;  cf.  Isa.  xxxiii.  15; 
§  599  f.). 

§  596.  Sufficient  has  perhaps  been  said  to  set  forth  the 
chief  specific  sources  of  the  moral  and  social  undoing  of 
the  people  of  Israel.  We  find,  however,  that  kindred  or 
at  least  concomitant  evils,  encouraged  by  the  immunity 
afforded  to  wrong-doing,  infested  and  poisoned  the  national 
life.  The  grosser  vices  which  struck  more  directly  at  the  in- 
dividual character,  and  indirectly  at  the  welfare  of  the  state, 
have  already  been  characterized  (§  296,  320  ff.).  Licen- 
tiousness and  conjugal  infidelity,  promoted  by,  and  in  their 
turn  promoting,  idolatrous  practices,  were  foremost  among 


1  Translate  vii.  3,  according  to  a  restored  text : 

"  To  make  ready  their  hands  for  evil, 
The  noble  asks  counsel,  and  the  judge  answers  for  hire 
And  declares  to  him  what  his  soul  lusts  for." 

This  passage  and  the  context  were  probably  written,  not  by  an  unknown 
prophet,  as  many  recent  critics  suppose,  but  by  Micah  himself  in  his  later 
years  under  Manasseh. 


^    '  i 


lit 


214 


DKUXKENNKSS,   DECEIT,   FUIVOLITY         Hook  VII 


these  sins.  To  them  must  be  added  intemperate  indulgence 
in  strong  drink,  especially  in  Northern  Israel  (Isa.  xxviii. 
1,  3 ;  Amos  vi.  6),  and  that  not  only  among  men,  but 
among  the  ladies  of  Samaria  (Amos  iv.  1).  It  was  also 
rife  in  high  places  in  Judah  (Isa.  v.  11 ;  xxviii.  7  f.).  It 
is  the  leaders  of  the  people  who  play  the  crowned  Bacchus 
in  the  drunken  revels  of  Samaria ;  and  Isaiah  ascribes 
to  habitual  intoxication  the  incompetency  of  priests  and 
prophets  in  Jerusalem.  Dishonesty  in  business  transac- 
tions comes  perhaps  next  to  the  vice  of  bribery  in  loosing 
social  bonds.  It  is  evidenced  by  the  extraordinary  earnest- 
ness with  which  suretyship  is  depreciated  in  the  proverbial 
literature  (Prov.  vi.  1  ff. ;  xi.  15 ;  xx.  16 ;  xxii.  26  f .)  ;  by 
the  frequent  use  of  false  weights  and  balances  (Hosea  xii. 
7 ;  Amos  viii.  5 ;  Mic.  vi.  10  f. ;  cf.  Deut.  xxv.  13-15 ; 
Prov.  xi.  1 ;  xvi.  11 ;  xx.  10,  23),  and  by  various  sorts  of 
special  knavery,  ranging  from  the  theft  of  small  sacrificial 
offerings  (Amos  ii.  8)  to  making  a  "corner"  in  wheat 
(Prov.  xi.  26 ;  cf.  Amos  v.  11 ;  viii.  6).  Finally,  we  must 
not  lose  out  of  sight  the  degeneration  and  corruption  of 
Hebrew  womanhood  (cf.  §  271).  No  single  general  cause 
could  contribute  more  to  the  internal  decay  and  dissolution 
of  society  than  the  frivolity,  extravagance,  and  luxurious 
self-indulgence  of  the  mothers  and  wives  of  the  citizens. 
It  is  therefore  with  unerring  moral  as  well  as  sociological 
instinct  that  the  reforming  prophet  Isaiah  repeatedly  con- 
nects disaster  to  the  state  with  their  evil  character  and 
doings  (Isa.  iii.  16  ff. ;  xxxii.  9  ff. ;  cf.  §  721). 

§  597.  We  have,  I  trust,  been  able  to  get  some  light 
upon  the  nature  of  the  "social  question"  in  Israel,  and 
also  to  learn  why  it  was  so  long  a  "  burning  question." 
The  best  proof  that  social  unrest  and  disorder,  from  the 
wrong-doing  of  those  in  power,  were  characteristic  of 
Israel's  history,  is  to  be  found  in  a  fact  already  alluded 
to  (§  593).  The  cause  of  the  unfortunate  was  not  es- 
poused by  legislators  and  reformers  alone.  These  might 
be  suspected  of  professional  prejudice,  if  not  of  personal 


Cii.  VI,  §  598     MAGNITUDE  OF  THE  MORAL  ISSUE 


215 


interest  in  agitation.  The  champions  and  advocates  of 
the  distressed  were,  above  all,  those  wlioni  we  may  call  the 
popular  writers  of  the  nation,  those  who  made  its  songs,  its 
proverbs,  and  its  moral  essays.  We  have  presented  to  us 
here  a  phenomenon  of  the  very  highest  moment.  There 
is  no  practical  question  which  occupies  these  great  thinkers 
and  patriots  as  much  as  this.  It  is  literally  harped  upon 
in  season  and  out  of  season.  Among  a  people  like  the 
Hebrews,  we  expect  that  such  a  problem  would  assume  a 
religious  aspect.  But  we  are  surprised  to  find  that  it  is 
constantly  brought  into  relation  with  the  widest  issues  of 
the  spiritual  life,  the  most  fundamental  duties,  the  most 
solemn  sanctions  of  religion.  Regard  for  the  poor  and  the 
oppressed  is,  in  fact,  itself  an  essential  part  of  religion. 
The  inference  is  obvious.  If,  as  will  presently  appear,  the 
practical  religious  life  of  Israel  was  mainly  conversant  with 
these  social  matters,  it  must  have  been  chiefly  from  this 
habit  of  mind  and  bent  of  soul  that  the  moral  and  spiritual 
sentiment  of  Israel  was  fostered  and  developed.  The  con- 
cluding portion  of  this  inquiry  will  be  devoted  to  an  attempt 
to  exhibit  the  phenomenon  in  its  literary  and  historical 
setting,  and  to  justify  the  inferences  which  it  suggests. 

§  598.  Following  the  principle  laid  down  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  series  of  studies  (§  391),  we  shall,  in  order  to 
get  if  possible  at  the  innermost  circle  of  the  social  life  of 
Israel,  take  a  fresh  look  at  its  sociological  literature.  It 
will  be  very  helpful  to  take  a  cursory  glance  at  the  book 
of  I'salms  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  member  of  the  ancient 
society  itself.  (1)  As  it  would  strike  a  contemporary,  the 
book  seems  to  be  largely  made  up  of  a  sort  of  partisan 
literature.  A  majority  of  the  Psalms  at  least  would  be 
quotable  against  a  powerful  party,  or  set,  or  class  in  the 
state,  that  is  bitterly  opposed  by  the  authors  of  the  poems. 

(2)  This  obnoxious  party  has  continually  the  u[)per  hand. 

(3)  Its  adherents  are  designated  by  various  epithets  which 
seem  to  be  interconvertible  terms.  They  are  "wicked'' 
{e.g.  Ps.  i.;  v.;  vii.;  ix.-xii. ;  xiv. ;  xxxvii. ;  Ixii.-lxiv.), 


^  1 


210 


THE   QUESTION'   IN   THE   PSALMS 


Book  VII 


H  \ 


I 


!      :\     !. 


"malignant"  («.//.  vii.;  lii.;  liv. ;  Ivii. ;  Ixxi. ;  xciv. ;  cix.; 
cxxiii.-cxxv. ;  cxxxix.),  ambitious  of  honours  and  of  influ- 
ence in  wrong-doing  (Ixxv. ;  xciv.),  cynical  and  frivolous 
(xiv.;  XXXV.  16).  (4)  These  moral  characteristics  are 
interchangeable  with  others  which  at  the  first  glance  seem 
merely  social  and  material.  The  same  people  who  are 
called  "  wicked "  are  directly  or  indirectly  described  as 
"rich"  (xvii. ;  xxxvii.;  xlix.;  lii.;  Iv.  19;  Ixxiii.),  and,  as 
such,  deserving  of  equal  reprobation.  Greed  and  covetous- 
ness  (x.  3;  xlix.  6ff.,  16)  seem  to  be  inseparable  in  the 
Psalms  from  the  possession  of  riches.  (5)  The  most  per- 
nicious and  far-reaching  social  abuse  —  the  work  of  evil 
judges  (§  590  ff.)  —  is  duly  stigmatized,  and  the  offenders 
put  in  an  everlasting  pillory  (Ps.  Iviii.).  Just  because 
their  function  makes  them  to  be  as  "gods  "  (Ixxxii.  1, 6),  the 
moral  "foundations  of  the  earth  are  moved  out  of  course" 
through  their  unjust  and  partial  decisions.  Yea,  the  time 
is  coming  when  the  outraged  people  shall  rise  against  them 
and  hurl  them  down  the  sides  of  the  rock  (cxli.  6).  It  is 
"crime  enthroned  which  produces  mischief  according  to 
statute  "  (xciv.  20). 

§  599.  The  poetical  books  generally,  and  especially  the 
Psalms,  manifest  an  attitude  towards  this  social  question, 
and  a  spirit  and  temper  different  from  those  of  the  other 
interested  books.  All  the  Old  Testament  writings,  it  is 
true,  reveal  intense  sympathy  with  the  poor  and  the 
unfortunate.  But  the  Psalms  above  all  give  a  moral  qual- 
ity to  their  condition.  They  are  here  made  a  special  com- 
munity or  class,  enjoying  not  merely  the  protection  of 
Jehovah,  for  that  was  the  distinctive  doctrine  of  the 
Hebrew  legislation  (§  576,  582  f .),  but  his  peculiar  favour 
as  well.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  desire  a  minute  descrip- 
tion of  the  lot  of  the  poor,  we  must  turn  to  the  book  of  Job. 
No  catalogue  of  social  wrongs  can  be  more  graphic  or  more 
touching  than  that  furnished  in  Job  xxii.  5  ff.,  xxiv.  2  ff. 
It  is  there  contended  just  as  earnestly  as  in  the  Prophets 
that  their  sufferings  are  due  in  large  measure  to  the  mag- 


Cii.  VI,  §001     JOB,  PROVEUUS,  I'KOI'HETS,  I'SALMS 


217 


nates  who  oppress  aiul  rob  the  helpless,  aiul  defy  God  hini- 
selt'  in  the  eonfidenee  born  of  prosperity.'  This  is  the  most 
piteous  ery  that  is  lieard  in  all  aneient  literature  over  the 
uinelieved  sufferings  of  the  poor  and  their  unavenged 
wrongs. 

§  600.  Naturally,  however,  it  is  rather  a  judicial  tone 
that  is  adopted  in  the  book  of  Job,  the  vindication  of 
whose  hero  demands  that  lie  should  impartially  look  from 
all  sides  upon  the  problems  of  life.  In  Chapter  xxxi.  Job 
not  merely  offers  a  minute  justification  of  his  own  career, 
but  at  the  same  time  registers  the  temptations  to  which  an 
elder  and  judge  is  subject.  lie  even  goes  so  far  as  to  say 
that  while  the  wickedness  of  the  world  is  due  to  evil 
judges,  their  partiality  is  tolerated  by  God's  providence 
(ix.  24).  The  book  of  Proverbs,  also,  on  the  whole,  views 
the  matter  from  the  outside,  an  attitude  that  befits  the 
philosophy  of  life  in  general.  The  Prophets,  who  are 
the  public  and  professional  partisans  of  the  poor  and  the 
oi)pressed,  occupy  themselves  perforce  in  "speaking  for" 
others,  protesting  against  their  wrongs,  and  showing  the 
guilt  of  the  leaders  of  society.  But  in  the  Psalms,  the 
sufferers  speak  directly  for  themselves  and  always  as  a 
part  of  the  afflicted  community.  The  book,  as  a  whole, 
is  the  record  of  practical  life,  the  breathing  out  of  feeling 
and  sentiment  evoked  by  the  pressure  and  strain,  the 
wear  and  tear,  of  its  mixed  and  unequal  conditions.  It 
is  here  especially  that  the  poor  and  the  unfortunate  find 
their  voice  and  cry  aloud  to  Jehovah  the  God  of  mercy 
and  justice  (§  595). 

§  601.  Note  the  following  series  of  related  facts  which, 
by  various  paths,  lead  to  the  heart  of  the  social  and  moral 
problems  of  ancient  Israel.  (1)  Religion,  simple  as  it  is, 
includes,  as  one  of  its  indispensable  and  essential  elements, 


1  On  tho  other  hand,  the  fine  picture  of  an  ideal  prince  drawn  in  Ps.  ci. 
(of.  Ixxii.  4,  12-14)  is  more  than  matched  in  realistic  and  discriminating 
detail  by  the  portrait  of  a  just  and  noble  judge  and  elder  given  in  Job 
xxix.  7  ff. 


[  i;.  i 


218 


SIGNIFICANT  POSITIONS  ASSUMED 


Book  VII 


:  : 


regard  for  the  poor  and  the  distressed.  "  Kindness "  or 
mercy  is  one  of  the  prophetic  graces  indispensable  to  re- 
ligion, but  hard  to  find  among  the  leaders  of  Israel  (Mic. 
vi.  8;  vii.  2  ff.).  (2)  But  the  possession  of  this  general 
virtue  is  brought  to  a  practical  searching  test  when  fellow- 
ship and  sympathy  with  the  unfortunate  are  held  to  secure 
the  favour  and  protection  of  Jehovah  (Ps.  xli. ;  Prov.  xiv. 
21;  xix.  17;  xxviii.  8,  27  ;  contrast  Ps.  x.  3 ;  xxxv.  10;  xli. 
5  ff. ;  Prov.  xxi.  13;  xxii.  16,  22  f.),  and  to  be  of  themselves 
an  indication  of  religious  character  and  standing  (Ps.  xli. ; 
Prov.  xiv.  31 ;  xxix.  7  ;  ctr.  Ps.  x.  9  ff.).  (3)  The  "  poor  " 
are  actually  made  synonymous  with  the  "righteous,"  as 
(§  598)  the  "rich"  with  the  "wicked"  (Psalms,  passim; 
Prov.  xiii.  23;  xix.  1,  22 ;  cf.  Isa.  liii.  9).  (4)  The  "  poor  " 
are  engaged  in  an  unequal  struggle  with  the  "wicked," 
which,  however,  is  bound  to  terminate  in  their  ultimate 
triumph ;  in  particular,  they  are  contending  for  the  posses- 
sion of  "the  land"  (Ps.  xxv.  13, 15  ff. ;  xxviii.  3  ff. ;  xxxvii. 
3,  9,  18,  25,  34  ff. ;  xHx.  10  ff. ;  lii.  5  ff. ;  cf.  Prov.  x.  3,  7 ; 
xiii.  22  f. ;  xxi.  12 ;  xxiv.  15  ff.).  This  issue  is  manifestly 
raised  in  consequence  of  the  judicial  oppression  of  the  poor, 
and  the  extension  of  the  estates  of  the  rich  and  powerful 
(§  580  ff.).  (5)  The  conflict  was  more  than  a  material 
one  ;  it  involved  also  religious  advantages.  Partly  through 
impoverishment,  and  partly,  it  would  seem,  through  violent 
exclusion,  the  true  representatives  of  Jehovah  were  some- 
times excluded  from  the  Temple  services  (Ps.  xiii. ;  xliii. ; 
Ivi.  8,  12  f. ;  cf.  xxvii.  3  ff. ;  Iv.  6  ff.,  13-18).  ((>)  But  the 
religious  life  generally  being  bound  up  with  access  to  re- 
ligious services,  local  or  central,  the  right  to  such  spiritual 
privileges  is  an  inalienable  prerogative  of  true  followers  of 
Jehovali,  to  be  rightly  withdrawn  from  their  persecutors 
and  the  ungodly  generally  (Ps.  i.  5;  v.  4-7;  xv. ;  xxii. 
25  f. ;  xxiv.  3-6 ;  xxvi.  4  ff. ;  xxviii.  '2  ff.  xxxi.  19  f. ;  lii. 
6-8 ;  Prov.  xv.  9 ;  xxi.  27 ;  Isa.  xxxiii.  15-17). 

v^  602.     The  above  citations  may  suffice  to  set  forth  the 
position  of  the  "  poor "  and  "  righteous  "  in  society,  and 


; 


Cii.  VI,  §  C03     THE  SOCIAL  STATE  AND  RELIGION 


219 


their  attitude,  theoretical  and  practical,  towards  the  relig- 
ious and  moral  issues  of  their  country  and  time.  Here  we 
stand  within  the  threshold  of  that  arena  upon  which  the 
first  great  decisive  contest  was  waged,  upon  eternal  prin- 
ciples, for  humanity,  justice,  and  freedom.  The  urgent 
practical  problem  was,  how  to  live  under  the  social  system 
of  the  Hebrew  monarchy,  and  retain  that  for  which  life 
was  worth  the  living.  This  was  to  the  true  Hebrew,  (1) 
the  possession  of  his  patrimony ;  (2)  the  conservation  of 
his  family  and  family  rights ;  (3)  his  religious  privileges. 
All  of  these  were,  as  we  have  seen,  impaired  by  the 
oppressiveness  and  godlessness  of  the  leaders  of  the  com- 
munity. It  is  now  plain  enough  how  the  material  interests 
of  life  were  inseparably  interwoven  witli  the  interests  of 
the  kingdom  of  Jehovah.  It  was  this  that  made  the  issue 
eternal.  It  was  Jehovah's  rights  that  were  being  infringed, 
and  his  claims  that  were  being  denied,  when  wrong  was 
committed  against  any  of  his  true  worshippers.  When 
they  were  deprived  of  their  property,  it  was  He  who  was 
defrauded  of  his  proprietorship.  When  the  poor  were 
mulcted  and  pillaged  by  judicial  process  or  arbitrary  en- 
croachment, it  was  his  words  that  were  outraged  and  his 
guardianship  that  was  assailed  (Ps.  xii.  5).  When  they 
were  hindered  in  the  performance  of  those  religious  rites 
which  made  up  so  much  of  common  life,  it  was  his  true 
worship  that  was  contemned.  When  the  purity  of 
Jehovah's  service  was  marred,  either  in  form  or  spirit, 
eitlier  in  local  shrines  or  in  the  central  sanctuary,  it  was 
his  true  followers  that  were  repelled  and  their  consciences 
that  were  wronged. 

§  (t03.  We  can  now,  perhaps,  somewhat  better  ajipre- 
ciate  the  yearnings  of  i)rophets  and  psalmists  for  a  reign  of 
justice  and  freedom.  Such  aspirations  assumed  a  charac- 
teristically Hebrew  form  and  expression.  So  deep  and 
certain  was  their  consciousness  of  the  diviiie  righteous- 
ness, and  the  persuasion  of  its  vindication  and  of  its 
triumph  over  injustice    and    impiety,   that  these    became 


'i 


'i: 


m 


ill 


1 .1 


'    ;! 


220 


A  MESSIANIC   HOPE 


Book  VII 


fixed  articles  of  faith  and  the  watchwords  of  the  party  of 
Jehovah.  Intermediate  stages  and  auxiliary  movements 
were  ignored.  The  intensely  realistic  imagination  of  the 
poet  and  the  seer  brought  the  new  era  at  once  within  the 
range  of  sight  (§  13).  The  long  and  weary  night-watches 
had  not  blenched  the  steady  gaze  of  faith;  it  only  made 
the  eye  quicker  and  keener  to  discern  amid  the  thickening 
gloom  the  signs  of  the  coming  of  the  "Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness." Naturally  the  restorer  of  Israel  must  be  a  king. 
For  the  king  is  all  in  all.  A  good  elder,  judge,  counsellor, 
or  minister  of  state  might  reform  his  own  smaller  or  larger 
jurisdiction.  But  the  king  is  historically  (§  36,  49  ff.)  and 
potentially  (§  534  ff.)  elder,  counsellor,  and  judge  in  one. 
He  alone  could  reform  the  state  throughout.  He  would 
indeed  defend  the  nation  from  the  dreaded  Assyrian  and 
give  peace  to  the  people  (Mic.  v.  5).  And  so  he  would 
be  a  godlike  hero  and  a  prince  of  peace.  But  when  he 
should  take  the  government  upon  his  shoulders,  he  would 
uphold  the  kingdom  with  justice  and  righteousness ;  and 
SCI  he  would  be  "a  wonder  of  a  counsellor  and  an  ever- 
lasting father"  (§  430)  to  his  people  (Isa.  ix.  6  f . ;  cf. 
xxxii.  1  f.). 

§  604.  The  cry  of  the  afflicted  and  the  oppressed  had 
long  been  uttered  in  vain.  At  the  best,  the  most  worthy 
judges  only  heard  the  cases  that  came  before  them.  For 
the  great  multitude  for  whom  no  man  cared  there  was  no 
advocate,  no  daysman.  This  was  the  burden  of  the  pro- 
phetic complaint  and  appeal :  "  Inquire  into  justice,  set 
right  the  cruel,  do  justice  to  the  fatherless,  take  up  the 
cause  of  the  widow"  (Isa.  i.  17).  The  expected  Ruler,  as 
king  and  judge  in  one,  was  to  fulfil  this  ideal  (Ps.  Ixxii.  4, 

12,  ff.): 

"  He  shall  jutlge  the  afflicted  of  the  people; 
lie  shall  save  the  cliiltlreu  of  the  needy  ; 
And  shall  crush  the  oppressor. 
lie  shall  deliver  the  needy  cryinjif  for  help, 
And  the  afflicted  when  he  has  no  helper. 
He  shall  have  pity  npoii  tlie  yoor  and  needy  ; 


mmmm 


1; 


Ch.  VI,  §  G05      PERIOD  OF  PSALM  COMPOSITION 


221 


And  the  souls  of  the  needy  he  shall  save. 

Against  fraud  and  wrong  he  sliall  champion  their  life,i 

And  precious  shall  their  blood  be  in  his  eyes. " 

Thus  the  Messianic  hope,  the  anticipation  of  the  "  king 
who  shall  reign  by  righteousness,"  was  not  merely  cher- 
ished as  a  stay  and  bulwark  against  the  shock  of  war  and 
the  impending  invasion  of  the  Assyrians  (Mic.  v. ;  Isa. 
vii.  f.).  It  was  an  image  evoked  by  mingled  despair  and 
trust,  by  baffled  and  yet  irrepressible  faith,  of  One  who 
should  right  all  social  and  civic  wrongs,  and  bring  Israel 
to  its  own  again.  Under  him  "  Judah  and  Israel  should 
dwell  safely,  each  one  under  his  own  vine  and  his  own  lig- 
tree,  none  making  them  afraid  "  (1  K.  iv.  25 ;  Mic.  iv.  4), 
enjoying  the  labour  of  his  hands  amid  peace,  order,  good- 
will, and  plenty. 

§  605.  It  will  be  proper  at  this  point  to  anticipate  the 
conclusions  of  our  review  of  the  literature  of  Israel,  by  a 
remark  as  to  the  period  of  Psalm  composition.  There  is 
no  need  of  going  into  the  vexed  questions  that  belong 
rather  to  special  treatises.  It  is,  however,  most  pertinent 
to  our  present  discussion  to  say  a  word  upon  that  division 
of  the  literature  to  which  we  have  been  so  much  indebted 
for  illustration.  The  main  consideration  is  that  the  domi- 
nant note  of  the  Psalms  is  one  of  stress  and  conflict.  So 
is  it  perhaps  with  the  deepest  and  most  moving  religious 
poems  in  any  age  or  nation.  They  are  no  nui-sery  plants ; 
they  are  the  growth  of  a  soil  watered  w^ith  blood  and  tears. 
So  was  it  above  all  with  the  hymns  of  the  ancient  Hebrews. 
It  was  at  midnight,  and  in  the  prison-house,  that  the  faith- 
ful of  Israel,  like  the  apostles  of  the  early  Church,  "prayed 
and  sang  hymns  unto  God"  (Acts  xvi.  25).  We  have 
seen  how  an  understanding  of  the  social  question  fur- 
nishes the  key  to  the  inter[)retation  of  many  of  the  Psalms. 
It  is  manifest  from  the  large  place  which  is  taken  in  the 
collection  by  the  Psalms  whicli  we  have  been  considering 


1  "  He  shall  be  the  '  Goel '  of  their  soul  "  ;  cf.  §  426. 


;  I J  'J- 


•i.\   <i 


I 


II 


■i 


:   |i 


IJlji 


i 


rl 


;i.i; 


II 


111. 


f 


222 


HINTS  FROM  THE  OTHER  BOOKS 


Book  VII 


—  those  whose  theme  is  abuse  of  justice,  the  crimes  of  the 
rich,  and  kindred  modes  of  wrong-doing  —  that  such  social 
iniquities  and  misfortunes  must  have  characterized  a 
lengthy  portion  of  the  history  of  Israel. 

§  606.  We  naturally  look  for  confirmation  to  the  his- 
torical, and  especially  (§  14)  to  the  prophetical  books. 
We  find  there  indeed  that  the  evil  was  chronic,  that  no 
age  was  free  from  its  blight  and  curse.  But  there  is  a 
difference.  There  is  a  fairly  well  defined  period  in  which 
the  3ufferings  of  individuals  are  brought  specially  into 
prominence.  Roughly  speaking,  the  time  thus  indicated 
is  what  we  may  call  the  middle  period  of  the  monarchy. 
In  the  histories  it  is  introduced  by  the  judicial  spoliation 
and  murder  of  Naboth  (§  239) ;  in  the  prophecies  by  the 
denunciations  of  Amos.  The  cycle  begins  with  Amos  and 
runs  through  Hosea,  Isaiah,  and  Micah.  Before  this  era 
the  evils  were  gross  enough.  But  in  the  semi-tribal  con- 
dition of  the  people  there  was  less  scope  for  intrigue  and 
rapacity  in  high  places.  After  the  period  in  question, 
international  entanglements  brought  more  fully  into  view 
the  struggle  for  national  existence  in  the  surviving  king- 
dom of  Judah.  Social  and  internal  evils  are  still  rife,  but 
they  do  not  take  the  leading  place.  They  are,  moreover, 
dealt  with  less  as  sins  in  themselves  than  as  causes  of  the 
collapse  of  society  and  the  state,  or,  after  the  Exile,  as 
imperilling  the  reconstruction  of  the  community  (Neh.  v. 
9).  Now  look  at  the  Psalms  once  more.  Speaking  again 
roughly,  we  find  that  most  of  those  above  reviewed  belong 
to  the  two  earlier  books.  The  last  three  books  have  just 
that  national  or  general  character  which  has  been  here 
attributed  to  the  later  prophecies.  There  is  not  in  them 
so  much  of  the  personal  conflict,  not  so  much  of  the  con- 
sciousness of  individual  wrongs.  In  the  earlier  books,  Ps. 
xliv.-xlviii.  are  marked  by  a  wider  outlook;  but  their  ex- 
ce[)tional  character  is  strikingly  conspicuous.  Now  such 
Psalms  as  we  have  been  examining  are  confessedly  the 
most  original  and,  as  we  may  say,  the  most  characteristic 


Cn.  VI,  §  607         EFFECTS  OX   RELIGIOUS  LIFE 


338 


of  the  whole  collection.  To  think  of  them  as  having  been 
written  objectively,  and  from  a  purely  literary  impulse,  is 
to  postulate  for  them  no  adequate  motive.  We  must  regard 
them  as  being  just  as  much  the  outgrowth  and  effluence  of 
their  time  as  are  the  corresponding  prophetic  outbursts. 
That  is  to  say,  they  must  as  a  whole  belong  to  the  same  age, 
the  golden  days  of  Prophecy,  the  period  reaching  from  Eli- 
jah to  Micah,  from  the  time  of  the  complete  realization  of 
monarchical  ideas  until  the  era  of  the  Assyrian  domination. 
§  607.  We  must  not  overlook  the  intimate  connection 
of  the  present  question  with  that  of  the  development  of 
the  religious  life.  After  what  has  been  said  it  is  super- 
fluous to  point  out  the  religious  aspects  of  the  social 
struggle  in  Israel.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  this 
conflict,  intense,  uninterrupted,  and  prolonged,  is  the  very 
heart  of  the  religion  of  the  Old  Testament,  its  most  regen- 
erative and  propulsive  movement.  To  the  personal  life  of 
the  soul,  the  only  basis  of  a  potential  worlu-mcving  religion, 
it  gave  energy  and  depth,  assurance  and  hopefulness,  repose 
and  self-control,  with  an  outlook  clear  and  eternal.  Its  vital- 
izing sustaining  principle  of  faith  in  the  "  name  "  and  the 
"faithfulness,"  or  the  character  and  consistency  of  Jehovah, 
was  at  once  the  quickening  sap  of  the  tree  of  life  and  its 
richest  flower  and  fruit.  Baffled  and  thrown  back  in  the 
struggle  for  justice,  the  party  of  Jehovah  and  righteousness 
clung  all  the  more  tenaciously  to  the  earlier  beliefs  and  ex- 
periences—  always  inward  and  practical,  never  theoretical 
or  rationalizing — of  their  God's  protection  of  his  followers, 
and  made  them  the  controlling  and  impulsive  forces  of 
their  lives.  Let  us  try  to  realize  their  situation.  We 
shall  thus  get  to  the  radiating  centre  of  tlie  light  and 
power  that  came  to  the  moral  heroes  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, ^  and  through  them  to  all  the  tried  and  strenuous 
souls  of  succeeding  generations. 

1  It  is  at  the  conclusion  of  one  of  lliese  Psalms  (xlii.-xliii.)  that  the 
poet,  persecuted  and  exiled  from  his  home  and  Jehovah's  land  and  sanc- 
tuary (§  001),  prays  that  Jehovah  might  send  his  light  and  truth  to  guide 


! 


\U 


h 


If 


"H 


i  (  H'i 


t! 


224 


KESULTS  OF  SOCIAL   DISABILITY 


Book  VII 


1 1''! 


§  608.  The  spiritual  sense  was  quickened  and  deepened 
because  there  was  littiv'^  in  the  state  of  Israel  social  and 
political  to  invite  active  interest  or  to  inspire  with  hope 
and  courage.  The  great  proportion  of  the  toiling  masses 
were  absolutely  cut  off  from  the  life  of  the  community. 
Amonor  them  there  was  no  v,^holesome  discontent  that 
could  make  itself  felt  among  the  governing  classes,  or 
that  might  ensure  progiess  in  spite  of  official  evils  by 
gradually  effecting  a  change  in  public  opinion.  They 
were  compelled  to  fall  back  upon  their  spiritual  franchise, 
upon  their  citizenship  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  their 
membership  in  hit;  household  (§  407).  There  was  no  per- 
sonal intercourse  between  the  governing  and  governed 
classes.  The  magnates  did  not  know  how  the  common 
men  lived,  except  as  to  their  ability  to  pay  usury  or  taxes, 
or  to  hold  on  to  their  coveted  patrimony.  There  was  no 
reciprocal  service  in  the  state  to  evoke  mutual  confidence 
and  helpfulness.  Hence  the  struggling  and  the  despised 
formed  a  community  of  their  own  (Ps.  xiv.  4,  5  f . ;  Ixxiii. 
15),  which  became  more  exclusive  than  even  the  opulent 
and  fashionable  circles  of  the  capital. 

§  609.  But  still  more  was  religious  life  intensified  and 
nourished  by  the  direct  pressure  of  personal  trial.  The 
hardships  of  their  lot  had,  to  be  sure,  the  effect  of  embitter- 
ing the  sufferers  against  their  prosperous  oppressors ;  but 
it  strengthened  also  their  faitn  and  trust  in  God  (Ps. 
xxxvii.).  Enduring,  as  they  often  had  to  do,  want  and 
privation  in  the  midst  of  plenty  and  luxury,  they  found 
all  the  more  satisfaction  in  appeasing  the  hunger  and 
quenching  the  thirst  of  the  soul  (Ps.  xlii.  1 ;  Ixiii.  1,  5). 
Sincerely  and  rightly  persuaded  that  the  grasping  and 
cruel  grandees  were  wicked  and  godless  (§  598),  they 
were  encouraged  all  the  more  to  cultivate  piety  and  tlie 
fear  of  God.  Uncompromising  as  they  were  in  resenting 
their  wrongs,  they  were  yet  poor  in  spirit  towards  God. 

him  back  to  the  tabernacle  of  God,  "  the  gladness  of  his  joy."    This  pas- 
sage contains  the  essence  of  the  Hebrew  religion. 


Cii.  VI,  §  010       EFFECTS  OF  PERSONAL  TRIAL 


226 


Debarred  as  they  were  from  the  pompous  sacrifices  in  tlie 
national  sanctuaries,  which  were  offered  by  the  rich  for 
the  propitiation  of  the  offended  and  alienated  Jehovah, 
and  even,  as  it  would  seem  (§  601),  excluded  sometimes 
from  access  to  the  sanctuary,  they  learned  all  the  more 
readily  to  offer  the  more  pleasing  sacrifice  of  a  broken  and 
contrite  heart.  The  vexing  problems  of  their  existence 
and  of  the  contradictions  of  their  lot  drove  them  to  self- 
examination  and  the  discovery  of  their  own  sinfulness. 
So  habitual  and  so  trying  was  their  experience  of  trouble 
at  the  hands  of  the  "  wicked,"  that  scarcely  a  psalm  of  the 
personal  life  is  devoid  of  allusion  to  it.  And  yet,  on  the 
other  hand,  confession  and  penitence  seem  impossible  to 
them  without  their  bringing  their  own  sinfulness  into  con- 
nection with  the  wickedness  of  their  adversaries  (see,  e.y., 
Ps.  xxxviii.  4  ff. ;  12  ff. ;  xxxix.  6  ff. ;  xl.  12  ff.).  Thus 
we  find  ourselves  here  in  the  atmosphere  and  environment 
in  which  the  religious  life  received  its  richest  and  most 
energizing  development.^ 

§  610.  A  word  or  two  in  conclusion  as  to  the  bonds 
which  unite  our  modern  social  and  moral  ideals  and  prob- 
lems with  those  of  ancient  Israel.  I  do  not  refer  to  the 
practical  lessons  which  we  learn  from  the  use  made  of  the 
Old  Testament  in  devotional  reading  or  edifying  discourse. 
Nor  have  I  in  mind  altogether  the  applications  which  are 
or  may  be  made  of  Old  Testament  principles  to  the  con- 
ditions and  problems  of  civic  government  and  social 
reform.  The  value  of  such  deference  to  the  Hebrew 
writings  is  much  more  talked  of  than  verified  or  appre- 
ciated.    It  would  probably  become  more  of  a  reality  if  the 

1  AVe  may  remark,  by  the  way,  that  we  have  here  also  a  key  to  many 
of  the  difficulties  of  the  I'salms.  The  rem.arkable  judgments  passed  upon 
the  "rich,"  for  example,  and  the  predicates  applied  to  them,  have  been 
noticed  above  (§  598).  Of  more  subjective  value  to  us,  perhaps,  is  the 
explanation,  now  available,  of  the  juxtaposition  of  expressions  of  deep 
devotion  and  the  bitterest  animosity  (e.g.  Ps.  xxxvi. ;  cxxxix.),  and  of 
the  psychological  and  spiritual  phenomena  of  the  "vindictive  Psalms" 
generally. 


! 


4' I 


11 


i 


r 


220 


ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  PROBLEMS 


Book  VII 


I 


ii; 


' 


historical  character  of  the  liiblieal  teaching  were  more 
intelligently  apprehended.  Certain  leading  considerations 
must  be  kept  in  view.  (1)  A  large  portion  of  the  civil 
code  of  the  Pentateuch  was  proleptic  and  disciplinary,  and, 
as  far  as  we  know,  never  carried  into  judicial  effect  (§  58(3). 
Just  how  much  was  actually  in  practice  is  difficult  to 
ascertain,  and  may  be  Ije.st  inferred  from  the  historical  and 
prophetical  books.  (2)  Nevertheless  the  most  wholesome 
provisions  of  the  "•  Law  "  are  the  reflex  of  sentiments  and 
convictions  cherished  in  the  inmost  heart  of  Israel,  evoked 
from  and  wrought  out  in  the  stress  and  conflict  of  national 
life.  (3)  In  the  same  way  the  moral  canons  laid  down  by 
the  Prophets  were  the  expression  of  ideals  to  which  the 
majority  of  the  nation  never  practically  attained.  (4)  The 
special  legislation  of  the  Hebrews  not  only  corresponded 
to  the  moral  advancement  of  the  best  portion  of  the 
nation,  but  was  accuratel}-  adjusted  to  its  needs.  (5)  The 
political  and  social  collapse  of  Israel  was  due  not  so  much 
to  the  admitted  inadequacy  of  its  political  institutions  as 
to  the  failure  on  the  part  of  the  leadei-s  of  the  people  to 
act  according  to  their  Ijest  lights.  (6)  The  products  of 
Hebrew  thought  and  wi.sdom  Ijest  worth  preserving  for 
the  uses  of  the  world  are  not  the  incidental  and  temporar}'^ 
enactments  of  the  "  Law,"  but  the  eternal  principles  of  the 
"  prophetical "  literature,  whether  found  in  the  histories, 
the  prophecies,  or  the  poetical  books.  (7)  The  duty  of 
our  modern  statesmen  and  social  reformers  towards  the 
sociological  and  moral  teaching  of  the  Old  Testament  is 
to  study  its  special  "legislation"  mainly  in  as  far  as  it 
illustrates  the  dominant  and  moving  principles  that  in- 
spired it,  and  to  make  these  principles,  as  they  are  amply 
illustrated  and  unfolded  in  Hebrew  history  and  literature, 
controlling  and  guiding  forces  in  their  own  public  life 
and  action.^     They  cannot  do  better  than  to  defer  to  the 

J I  may  refer  to  a  special  instance.  Interest  has  often  been  and  still  is 
stirred  up  in  behalf  of  the  system  of  land  tenure  in  Israel,  as  a  possible 
norm  or  guide  for  modern  special  legislation.    Such  a  use  of  what  may  be 


Cii.  VI,  §  Gil      EFFECT  ON  SOCIAL   EVOLUTION 


227 


[)atiiot  prophet  and  "  inquire  after  the  old  paths  "  ( Jer. 
vi.  16). 

§  611.  Finally,  we  may  inquire  as  to  the  place  of  the 
Old  Testament  sociological  and  moral  teaching  in  the 
evolution  of  human  society.  Only  one  aspect  of  the  mat- 
ter can  here  be  touched  upon.  Whether  the  Hebrew  liter- 
ature and  society  have  contributed  anything  of  permanent 
value  to  the  higher  and  controlling  thought  and  sentiment 
of  the  race,  and  if  so,  what  it  is  and  what  is  its  value,  are 
questions  which  are  open  to  a  very  simple  test.  We  ask : 
what  is  now  the  most  precious  moral  possession  of  the 
race  ?  what  is  the  great  saving  moral  and  social  principle 
of  the  world  of  men  at  the  end  of  this  nineteenth  century 
of  the  Christian  era?  And  further:  in  what  nation  or 
society  in  the  olden  time  was  this  surviving  principle 
asserted  as  cardinal  and  vital,  and  placed  on   enduring 

learned  about  the  question  is  neither  wise  nor  desirable.  But  a  study  of 
the  provisions  that  grew  out  of  the  fundamental  postulate  that  Jehovah 
was  the  ultimate  owner  of  the  land,  with  their  regard  for  the  rights  of 
tenants,  of  the  poor,  and  the  stranger  (548  ff.,  576  ff.),  is  in  the  highest 
degree  instructive  and  liberalizing.  I  may  venture  a  word  more.  It  may 
be  that  the  Old  Testament  is  neglected  by  modern  reformers  not  merely 
becau.se  it  is  imperfectly  understood,  or  because  its  standard  of  public  con- 
duct seems  impracticably  lofty,  but  also  because  it  does  not  offer  any  spe- 
cific remedies  for  existing  ills  or  practical  suggestions  for  reform  generally. 
They  therefore  virtually  dispense  with  it.  A  traveller  groping  his  way 
through  the  forest  might  as  well  dispense  with  the  daylight,  by  whose  help 
alone  he  can  find  his  bearings.  It  is  remarkable,  and  not  very  creditable 
to  the  thinkers  and  critics  of  the  day,  that  elaborate  attempts  to  grapple 
with  tremendous  social  problems  are  dealt  with  mostly  from  the  point  of 
view  of  feasibility  alone,  apart  from  the  wholesome  moral  inspiration 
which  most  of  them  afford.  A  notable  instance  is  Bellamy's  Looking 
Backward,  which  has  been  the  butt  of  numberless  able  reviewers,  large 
and  small,  who  contemptuously  dismiss  it  from  consideration  because  its 
scheme  of  social  reorganization  is  impracticable.  They  ignore,  or  perhaps 
fail  to  perceive,  that  what  has  really  "  carried  "  the  book,  and  given  it  an 
epoch-making  significance,  is  its  recognition  of  social  defects  and  its  sym- 
pathy with  the  victims  of  organized  oppression  and  selfishness.  In  this, 
it  and  kindred  works  are  an  echo  of,  or  rather  a  response  to,  the  voices 
that  proclaimed  "  mercy  and  justice  "  as  the  essence  of  the  old-time  relig- 
ion of  Jehovah. 


228 


ALTRUISM    IN   THE   OLD  TKSTAMEXT        Book  VII 


i! 


record  ?  Probably  it  will  be  agreed  that  the  sense  of  jus- 
tice and  the  impulse  of  mercy  form  in  their  just  combina- 
tion the  strongest  influence  for  good,  the  chief  regenera- 
tive force,  in  any  modern  community.  Moreover,  it  has 
been  found  by  long  experience  that  the  first  sentiment 
cannot  flourish  without  the  second.  This  has  been  proved 
by  the  awful  tragedy  which  reconciled  the  divine  govern- 
ment with  human  redemption,  by  the  practical  relaxation 
of  stern  religious  creeds,  and  by  the  costly  experiments  of 
barbaric  and  semi-br'rbaric  legislation.  The  crowning  re- 
sultant we  call  altruism,  or  the  humanitarian  spirit.  And 
we  are  wont  to  count  it  a  modern  or  rather  a  contemporary 
achievement.  For  it  comes  upon  us  with  the  freshness 
and  energy  of  youth,  and  the  inward  exultation  of  a  novel 
moral  excitement.  And  in  truth  it  must  be  something 
new  to  the  great  world ;  for  it  has  not  become  fashionable 
or  even  tolerable  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  social  rela- 
tionship. Its  application  to  political  life  or  even  the  com- 
moner processes  of  commercial  and  business  dealing  is 
scarcely  dreamed  of  except  by  a  few  unpopular  enthu- 
siasts. 

§  612.  And  yet  altruism  is  not  new.  It  was  and  is  a 
product  of  the  Old  Testament  religion.  The  humanita- 
rian spirit  was  no  symptom  of  a  transient  sentiment,  no 
"  fad  "  of  a  clique  or  set.  That  which  gives  character 
and  immortality  to  a  national  literature  must  have  had  a 
strong,  wide,  and  steady  development.  Our  review  of  the 
history  and  the  concomitant  literary  monuments  has  not 
yet  brought  us  to  its  fullest  development  and  articulate 
expression.  But  of  its  germinal  beginnings  and  its  rich 
promise  we  have  already  had  more  than  a  glimpse.  Its 
persistence  and  expansion  to  the  present  hour  may  be  his- 
torically traced.  There  is  no  better  or  more  useful  task 
for  the  social  evolutionist.  Let  him  begin  by  studying 
"  prophetism  "  in  its  manifold  representation  in  all  depart- 
ments of  the  Hebrew  literature.  He  will  have  accom- 
plished the  next  great  step  when  he  has  learned  how 


Cii.  VI,  §  «i;} 


A   PROrilETIC   INSTANT  K 


220 


Jesus  could  sfiy  that  He  came  to  fulfil  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets.  Then  already  lie  will  have  traversed  the  most 
decisive  stages  in  the  long  and  winding,  but  certain  and 
invincible,  progress  of  the  altruistic  idea.  Our  present 
task  is  the  humbler  one  of  showing  that  it  is  contained 
implicitly  in  the  teachings  of  the  religious  and  social  re- 
formers of  the  monarchical  times  of  Israel,  and  that  it  was 
nurtured  and  promoted  by  the  internal  movements  of 
ancient  Hebrew  society.  One  illustration  may  be  cited 
of  the  potentiality  and  truly  "  prophetic "  character  of 
that  teaching  and  those  movements ;  and  it  is  taken,  not 
from  the  later,  but  from  the  earlier  days  of  the  prophetic 
epoch,  in  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century  n.c.  It  is  re- 
lated (2  K.  vi.  20  ff.)  that  certain  troopers  of  Damascus, 
during  the  terrible  hereditary  wars  between  that  country 
and  Northern  Israel,  found  themselves  on  one  occasion  un- 
expectedly made  prisoners  in  the  city  of  Samaria,  through 
the  agency  of  the  prophet  Elisha;  "And  the  king  of  Israel 
said  to  Elisha,  when  he  saw  them.  My  father,  shall  1 
slay?  shall  I  slay  them?  and  he  answered.  Thou  shalt 
not  slay  them ;  wouldst  thou  slay  those  whom  thou  hast 
taken  captive  with  thy  sword  and  thy  bow?  Set  bread 
and  water  before  them,  that  they  may  eat  and  drink,  and 
go  to  their  own  master.  And  he  prepared  for  them  a 
bountiful  repast ;  and  when  they  had  eaten  and  drank,  he 
sent  them  away,  and  they  went  to  their  own  master."  We 
hear  nothing  of  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  or  of  holding 
them  for  ransom.  But  naturally  enough  it  is  added: 
"  And  the  raiders  of  Damascus  did  not  continue  to  come 
into  the  land  of  Israel." 

§  613.  Some  of  the  features  of  this  moral  and  social 
evolution  may  be  briefly  summarized.  (1)  Moral  issues  in 
Israel  distinguished  it  from  all  other  communities,  ancient 
or  modern,  as  regards  its  relative  place  in  the  evolution 
of  society.  In  Israel  they  come  early  to  the  front.  Other 
communities,  with  a  long  history  behind  them,  are  just 
now  learning   that  it  "pays"  to  be  just  and  humane. 


i 


I    !:{l 


!l 


>{>! 


i 


2;iu 


THE   MORAL   ISSUE   IN   ISRAEL 


Book  VII 


It 


(2)  Recognizing  the  validity  of  the  evolutionary  law  of 
tlie  struggle  for  existence,  we  notice  that  the  decisive 
conflict  in  Israel  was  of  a  different  kind  from  that  waged 
in  any  other  society.  Others  were  lighting  communities. 
"  States  are  cradled  and  nurtured  in  continuous  war,  and 
grow  up  by  a  kind  of  natural  selection,  having  wrested 
or  subordinated  their  competitors  in  the  long-drawn-out 
rivalry  through  which  they  survive."  ^  And  hardly  differ- 
ing in  kind,  but  rather  in  degree  of  barbarity,  is  the  com- 
mercial war  by  which,  as  a  rule,  civilized  nations  have 
been  endeavouring  to  starve  and  cripple  one  another  be- 
yond recovery.  In  Israel,  also,  were  greed  and  the  lust  of 
power.  But  though  these  controlled  the  outward  forms 
of  society,  they  were  not  the  characteristic  social  forces 
which  survived  to  tell  the  tale  of  Israel's  struggle  for 
Immanity.  (3)  The  cause  of  virtue  and  righteousness  in 
Israel  did  not,  as  in  Greece  and  Rome,  occupy  the 
thoughts  of  an  exclusive  set  of  philosophers,  moralists, 
and  rhetoricians.  It  was  the  persistent  intellectual  and 
moral  pursuit,  for  centuries,  of  a  distinct  class  of  people 
in  the  community.  (4)  The  moral  and  social  problems  of 
Israel  were,  for  the  most  part,  wrestled  with  and  solved, 
and  their  solution  put  on  everlasting  record,  by  poor,  ob- 
scure, and  unfashionable  people,  in  spite  of  the  inveterate 
prejudice  of  themselves  and  tlieir  fellow-countrymen  that 
prosperity  was  a  mark  of  divine  favour.  (5)  What  has 
been  not  inaptly  called  "ethical  monotheism"  was  asserted 
and  vindicated,  for  their  own  time  and  forever,  by  the 
Prophets  of  Israel.  And  yet  the  belief  or  doctrine  was 
not  and  could  not  have  been  a  creation  of  the  Prophets. 
These  champions  of  the  people  simply  brought  to  tlie 
front  ond  immortalized  the  moral  and  religious  issues 
which  were  involved,  and  which  were  felt  by  every 
follower  of  Jehovah  to  be  at  stake,  in  the  wrongs  of  c,  I 
misgovernment,  judicial  oppression,  and  social  injustice. 
(6)  The  problems  Avhich  occupied  the  Old  Testament  law- 


1 


1  Kidd,  Social  Evolution  (1894),  p.  46. 


Cn.  VI,  §  014     RELATION  TO  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 


2;]l 


makers  aiul  prophets  are  those  whioh  still  press  most 
urgently  upon  serious  men.  Deceit,  selfishness,  lust,  with 
the  innumerable  forms  of  treachery,  cruelty,  and  dishon- 
our, which  are  their  perennial  offspring,  are  still  active 
everywhere,  openly  as  savage  brutality,  or  disguised  as 
hypocritical  Jitiesse.  These  issues  have  never  been  dealt 
with  again  in  any  literature  or  any  national  history  as 
they  were  dealt  with  in  the  Old  Testament  and  in  the 
personal  life  of  the  ancient  Hebrews.  Hence  the  Old 
Testament  cannot  be  dispensed  with,  in  our  time  at  least, 
either  as  a  work  of  classical  literature  or  as  a  manual  of 
moral  and  sociological  principles. 

§  614.  I  need  hardly  say  that  the  position  here  taken 
with  regard  to  the  place  and  influence  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment among  the  forces  that  make  for  righteousness  and 
mercy  does  no  injustice  to  the  New  Testament  revelation 
and  teaching.  But  while  recognizing  the  indispensable 
part  played  by  both  of  these  mighty  agencies  in  the  social 
regeneration  of  the  race,  it  is  equally  necessary  for  us  to 
dee  how  they  are  related  to  and  supplement  one  another. 
This  is  particularly  expedient  at  the  present  time,  when 
we  are  beginning  to  review  the  whole  moral  history  of 
the  world  from  a  new  standpoint,  when  we  are  trying  not 
only  to  ascertain  the  movements  and  tendencies  of  past 
ages  which  have  made  the  world  actually  and  potentially 
what  it  now  is,  but  also  to  measure  their  relative  vitality 
and  momentum.  Moreover,  it  is  now  honestly  fashionable 
to  ignore  the  Old  Testament  as  a  factor  in  the  uplifting  of 
human  thought  and  the  enerj;izing  of  human  endeavour.^ 

»  Mr.  Kidd,  in  his  Social  Evohdion  (1894),  p.  126,  says  truly  enoudi 
liitt  "we  have  in  the  religious  beliefs  of  nianlciiid  apparently  the  cliarac- 
ristic  feature  of  our  social  evolution."  And  we  may  not  (juarrel  with 
iii-i  broad  working  generalization,  that  "an  ultra-rational  sanction  for  the 
sacrifice  of  the  interests  of  the  individual  to  those  of  the  social  organism 
has  been  a  feature  common  to  all  religions  "  (ibid.).  But  we  must  demur 
to  his  begi)ining  his  outline  sketch  of  the  historic  influence  of  the  domi- 
nant relic.  iif  the  world  (p.  1.33  ff.)  with  "the  new  force  which  was 
born  into        world  with  the  Christian  religion."     The  omission  is  made 


f! 


I 


i 


i!  I 


if 
If) 


i,« 


wn< 


2;]2 


THE  NEW   ROOTED  IN  THE  OLD 


Book  VII 


i 


Hardly  any  more  convincing  fact  than  this  can  be  adduced 
to  show  that  the  scientific  study  oi  the  Bible  is  as  yet  only 
in  its  initial  stage. 

§  615.  An  estimate  of  what  it  would  seem  right  to 
hold  upon  this  vitally  important  question  may  be  given 
very  summarily  as  follows:  (1)  Both  the  Old  Testament 
and  the  New  have  a  twofold  moral  and  sociological 
function  for  humanity.  They  contain,  on  the  one  hand, 
precepts,  counsels,  warnings,  in  short  what  we  may  call 
teaching.  On  the  other  hand,  they  present  pictures  of 
social  life  and  conduct  which  either  illustrate  the  teaching 
or  point  its  moral.  (2)  As  regards  the  teaching  of  these 
two  collections  of  Hebrew  literature,  it  may  be  affirmed 
that  while  the  New  Testament  shows  an  advance  upon  the 
Old,  the  distinction  between  them  is  not  that  the  former 
propounds  an  entirely  new  thecy  of  life  and  morals.  It 
rather  illustrates  the  law  of  ethical  progress  under  new 
forms  of  social  life  and  under  a  new  inspiration.^  To 
maintain  the  contrary  is  to  ignore  the  soil  from  which  the 
New  Testament  sprang,  its  preparation  in  the  minds  of 
men  educated  as  Hebrews  of  the  time ;  and,  above  all,  its 
adoption  of  the  moral  and  sociological  principles  of  the 
old  Hebrew  reformera.  The  ethical  system  of  Christiariity 
was  never  claimed  by  Jesus,  or  by  his  disciples  of  any  age, 

all  the  more  glaring  by  the  fact  that  the  author,  in  speaking  of  the  influ- 
ence of  Christianity,  mentions  "  the  nature  of  the  ethical  system  associated 
with  it"  (p.  140  f.)  as  one  of  the  characteristics  "destined  to  render  it  an 
evolutionary  force  of  the  highest  magnitude." 

'  A  notable  and  widely  read  .article  by  (loldwin  Smith  in  the  North 
American  Review  for  December,  1896,  entitled  "  Christianity's  Millstone," 
is  worth  alluding  to  in  this  connection.  It  treats  the  Old  Te.stament  as 
if  it  were  one  book  instead  of  being  a  collection  of  books,  whose  produc- 
tion reaches  over  many  centuries  and  diversified  moral  and  social  con- 
ditions. It  makes  it  out  to  be  at  once  .about  the  worst  and  at  the  same 
time  the  best  production  of  .antiquity.  It  employs  arguments  against  the 
authority  of  the  Old  Testament  e(|ually  valid  against  the  New,  which  it 
holds  up  to  us  in  contrast.  Its  cardin.al  and  fatal  defect  is  that  it  recog- 
nizes no  law  of  evolution  or  of  historical  development  in  the  composition 
of  the  Old  Testament.  Such  an  essay  belongs  genealogically  to  the  earlier 
half  of  the  present  century. 


Cii.  VI,  §  610     THE  OLD  CONTINUED  IX  THE  NEW 


:on- 
ine 
the 
it 
OS- 
ion 
ier 


as  a  new  force,  or  a  new  idea,  or  a  new  revelation  given 
to  the  world  for  the  first  time  at  tlie  beginning  of  the 
Christian  era.  Jesus  spoke  with  original  authority,  but 
he  abrogated  no  whit  of  the  universal  and  characteristic 
teaching  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  precepts  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  are  to  be  found  implicitly  or  ex- 
plicitly in  the  Old  Testament  or  in  the  best  thought  of  the 
noble-minded  teachers  whose  training  was  entirely  pre- 
Christian,  legal,  and  prophetical. 

§  616.  (3)  It  therefore  does  injustice  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment itself  to  cut  it  loose  from  its  moral  antecedents. 
This  is  a  common  habit  even  with  thoughtful  writers,  who 
make  a  strong  point  of  contrasting  it  with  the  d^'ing  pagan 
civilization  which  had  just  preceded.^  This  obvious  antith- 
esis brings  out,  indeed,  most  clearly  the  unique  divine 
origin  of  Christianity.  But  it  is  of  littie  value  either  for 
historical  purposes  or  for  the  practical  ends  which  are 
subserved  by  the  intelligent  contemplation  of  the  unfold- 
ing in  human  lives  of  the  divine  idea  of  mercy,  justice, 
and  freedom.  (4)  What  we  may  call  the  new  life  of  the 
Christian  morality  was  not  a  new  creation,  but,  rather,  a 
glorious  resurrection.  We  lose  immeasurably  if  we  fail  to 
trace  it  to  its  roots  in  the  truths  which  were  wrought  out, 
as  never  before  or  since,  with  teare  and  blood,  in  the  social 
and  national  struggles  of  ancient  Israel.  We  need  to 
study  the  intervening  centuries.  The  polemic  attitude 
necessarily  maintained  by  Christ  and  his  apostles  towards 


1  As  is  done  by  Kidd,  Social  Evolution^  p.  134.  Leeky's  classical  and 
invaluable  work,  History  of  European  Morals,  is  almost  LMjually  one-sided. 
It  rarely  couples  Jews  with  Christians  in  tlieir  assertion  of  moral  principle 
(see  one  line  instance,  however,  in  vol.  i,  )).  405).  It  confounds  legal  and 
ceremonial  Judaism  with  the  resultant  religion  of  the  old  Testament.  It 
is  unjiLSt  to  the  Old  Testament  as  a  wh  )1('  as  to  the  position  assigned  by 
it  to  wonuvn.  It  ignores  in  its  sketch  of  the  history  of  chastity  (i.  10."'.  ff. 
and  elsewhere)  the  national  example  given  to  the  world  of  that  virtue  by 
the  ancient  Hebrews  —  perhaps  the  mo.st  potent  and  valuable  of  all  its 
moral  gifts  to  later  ages.  On  the  last-named  point,  see  the  essay  "  The 
Education  of  the  World,"  contributed  l)y  Dr.  Frederick  (afterwards 
Bishop)  Temple  to  Essays  and  lirriiics  (1800). 


ii^i 


t^  M 


■M 


i 
I 


234 


JESUS   RENEWS  ANCIENT   SOCIETY 


Book  VII 


1'^]*/  ^        1 


Judaic  Pharisaism  has,  with  other  influences,  led  to  a 
popuhir  notion  that  Hebrew  societ}'  before  their  time  was 
morally  and  spiritually  dead.  This  is  a  misconception. 
Then,  as  before  and  since,  the  saving  remnant  never  failed. 
We  regard,  and  rightly,  the  Reformation  as  the  renaissance 
of  practical  and  social  Christianity.  Looking  back  over 
the  "  dark  ages,''  we  can  see  through  all  their  years  the 
torch  of  faith  and  purity,  now  flickering  and  faint,  now 
blazing  up  in  triumphant  splendour,  and  never  utterly  ex- 
tinguished. So  was  it  with  the  stern  heroic  virtue  *  of  the 
true  Israel  in  the  pre-Christian  times.  As  the  Reforma- 
tion was  to  the  Middle  Ages,  so  in  its  way  and  measure 
was  the  Christian  era  to  the  "  silent  centuries." 

§  617.  (5)  As  regards  the  social  ypes  and  underlying 
moral  forces  of  the  Old  Testament  times  and  people,  in 
comparison  with  those  of  the  New,  we  must  bejir  in  mind 
that,  in  spite  of  all  political  and  governmental  revolutions, 
society  in  Palestine  remained  essentially  unchanged.  Tlie 
ecclesiastical  aristocracy  only  became  wider,  more  complex, 
and  more  arrogant,  with  the  loss  of  political  autonomy. 
Especially  must  we  remember  that  still  as  of  old  the 
champions  and  martyre  of  justice,  righteousness,  and  meek- 
ness were  of  the  classes  that  counted  for  nothing  in  church 
or  state.  If  Christ  came  to  the  poor  and  the  despised  in 
the  days  of  his  social  life,  it  was  because  his  spirit  had  always 
been  with  them.  The  early  Christian  Church  was  made 
up  mainly  of  such  elements  as  those  which,  according  to 
the  Hebrew  Psalms,  constituted  the  true  community  of 
Jehovah  (§  601).  (6)  Tlie  decisive  advance  was  made 
by  Jesus  through  his  Word  and  his  Pei"son.  He  gave  a 
death-wound  to  the  old-world  tyranny  of  caste  and  classes 
with  their  cruel  prerogative.  Ceremonial  religion  with  its 
popular  doctrine  of  salvation  through  ordinances  involved 
the  perpetual  religious  and  social  dis(|nalitication  of  the 
non-privileged  orders.  For  this  Jesus,  by  the  force  of  his 
living  word,  substituted  the  idea  of  personal  faitli  and  indi- 


1  Uead,  for  exainple,  2  Macz.  vii. 


Cii.  VI,  §  618     JESUS  AND  THE  PERSONAL  MOTIVE 


235 


vidual  responsibility.  To  the  credit  of  the  Pharisees,  be 
it  said,  the  way  was  partly  prepared  for  this  saving  evan- 
gel by  their  development  of  Judaism,  which  insisted  on  the 
individualistic  instead  of  the  national  view  of  man's  rela- 
tion to  God.  As  interpretei-s  of  the  Old  Testament  they 
could  not  fail  to  make  this  application  of  the  Prophets  and 
the  Psalms  and  the  social  provisions  of  the  Law.  But  (cf. 
Matt,  xxiii.  3)  they  could  not  as  a  body  disentangle  then)- 
selves  from  the  old-time  system  of  Church  and  State  aris- 
tocracy, which  tended  to  make  every  ruler,  judge,  elder, 
and  teacher  in  Israel  self-satisfied  and  exclusive,  and  there- 
fore far  from  the  kingdom  of  God. 

§  618.  (7)  The  supreme  innovation  introduced  by  Jesus 
was  the  attracting  and  unifj-ing  power  of  his  own  divine- 
human  Person.  There  were  democrats  before  his  time  ;  — 
such  was  indeed  every  true  projjhet  of  ancient  Israel.  But 
what  with  them  was  an  impracticable  dream  was  proved  by 
Him  to  be  a  possibility,  and  by  his  followei-s,  through  his  in- 
spiration, to  be  a  glorious  reality.  In  Him  men  recognized 
their  moral  Ideal  to  Ije  their  neighbour,  friend,  and  brother. 
He  who  was  higher  than  the  highest  made  Himself  as  low 
as  the  lowest,  and  took  upon  Him  the  form  of  a  slave. 
And  so  all  races  and  classes  found  their  meeting-place  in 
Him.  Since  He  is  all  and  in  all,  there  cannot  be  in  Him 
Gentile  or  Jew,  bondman  or  freeman.  And  by  being 
lifted  up  on  the  Cross  He  has  drawn  all  men  unto  him. 
Thus  to  the  prophetic  teaching,  which  was  weak  and  in- 
effective against  the  cramping  withering  power  of  self- 
love,  working  through  custom  and  tradition,  there  is 
superadded  a  motive  which  not  onl}-  opens  the  eyes,  but 
melts  the  heart.  When  Christ  came  into  the  most  relig- 
ious and  moral  community  the  world  had  ever  known,  it 
was  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  a  needle's  eye  than 
for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  tlie  kingdom  of  God.  And 
ever  since  it  has  been  perhaps  true  that  not  many  wise, 
not  many  mighty,  not  many  noV)le.  are  called.  But  all 
things  are  i)ossible  in  the  moral  realm  where  Jesus  is  king. 


(.■;; 


k 


•:  i] 


i 


tmm 


l.' 


236 


THE  OLD  AS  REFORMED  IN  THE  NEW      Book  VII 


At  his  touch  the  old  social  fabric  was  dissolved.  He  spoke 
the  word,  and  a  new  structure  began  to  rise  on  a  broader 
and  enduring  foundation.  And,  behold,  the  prostrate  pil- 
lars of  the  old  shattered  edifice  have  a  part,  and  that  a 
worthier  one  than  before,  in  the  reconstruction  I  The  new 
society,  after  all,  is  a  readjustment  of  the  constituents  of 
the  old.  The  antithesis  of  the  Old  Testament  community 
(§  698,  601)  is  annulled:  a  new  tribalism  takes  its  place 
(§  399).  The  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men ;  and  here 
the  rich  and  the  poor  meet  together  at  last.  But  the  con- 
dition of  membership  holds  still  as  of  old ;  for  now  the  rich 
are  those  who  have  become  poor  that  they  might  make 
others  rich.  A  standing  proof  is  here  that  the  regenera- 
tion of  society  has  begun.  Jesus  has  made  it  possible  for 
a  rich  man  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  God.  He  has  induced 
men  born  to  wealth  and  power  to  regard  these  endowments 
not  as  rights,  but  as  gifts,  as  conditions  of  "godlike  hard- 
ship," self-imposed  for  the  truth  that  makes  men  free,  and 
for  the  love  that  makes  them  one. 

§  619.  Our  principal  task  has  been  not  to  trace  the  old 
in  the  new,  nor  in  the  old  to  find  the  new,  but  to  test  the  old 
alone  by  its  independent  worth  for  the  weal  of  human  kind. 
Yet  the  larger  survey  is  needed,  however  brief  and  imper- 
fect. In  making  it,  we  must  learn,  like  the  Master  himself, 
to  look  back  upon  the  past  in  the  light  of  the  present.  In 
the  retrospect  we  cannot  but  recognize  those  saving  moral 
principles  which,  newly  informed  and  energized  by  him, 
are  leavening  and  renewing  the  individual  and  the  race. 
And  so  we  assent  to  those  words  of  his  which  forever  bind 
the  Christian  ages  to  the  heart  and  life  of  ancient  Israel : 
"  for  this  is  the  Law  and  the  Propliets." 


Book  VIII 


HEBREWS,  EGYPTIANS,  AND  ASSYRIANS 


m 


u>*io 


CHAPTER  I 

ASSYRIAN   EXPANSION    UNDER    SARGON 

§  620.  The  fall  of  Samaria  (§  352  ff.)  was  a  propitious 
beginning  for  the  reign  of  the  new  Assyrian  king.  Its 
surrender,  however,  had  been  assured  under  the  auspices 
of  his  predecessor,  and  his  easy  triumph  (§  357)  furnished 
of  itself  no  indication  of  a  genius  for  war  and  statesman- 
ship which  was  to  secure  to  Assyria  for  a  round  century 
undisputed  pre-eminence  among  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
and  to  assimilate,  if  not  to  unify,  the  innumerable  petty 
states  of  Western  Asia.  The  deeds  and  policy  of  Sargon 
soon  showed  him  to  be  the  true  successor  of  the  great  Tig- 
lathpileser.  In  an  empire  like  that  of  the  Assyrians  it 
was  often  necessary  that  military  operations  should  be  con- 
ducted upon  a  large  scale  simultaneously,  or  in  quick  suc- 
cession, in  regions  the  most  remote  from  one  another.  The 
generalship  of  the  king  was  most  signally  displayed  in 
massing  troops,  at  the  right  moment,  at  the  points  of  ex- 
treme danger;  in  the  rapid  marching  for  which  tlie  Assyr- 
ian armies  were  pre-eminentl}- distinguished:  and  in  prompt 
and  decisive  action  upon  the  field.  His  statesmanship  was 
most  severely  taxed  l)y  the  problems  of  repressing  discon- 
tent among  the  individual  principalities,  and  preventing 
dangerous  combinations  between  them  against  their  com- 

2:J7 


>Hm9 


m 
i 


i.i'' 


li  IS 


w 


^  t 


I 


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^,1 


I    i 


•'\ 


288 


SARGON  AND  THP:   CHALDEANS 


Book  VIII 


mon  suzerain.  The  comparatively  abundant  records  of 
Sargon's  reign  enable  us  to  trace  fairly  well  the  military 
and  civil  administration  of  the  empire  at  this  critical  period 
in  the  development  of  the  imperial  idea  among  its  first 
promoters.  Nothing  better  illustrates  the  urgency  of  the 
tasks  pressing  upon  the  new  king  than  the  fact  that  his 
principal  operations  had  to  be  transferred  immediately  from 
the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  to  those  of  the  Persian 
Gulf. 

§  621.  It  was  indeed  in  this  region  that  the  most  doubt- 
ful and  momentous  of  Sargon's  conflicts  were  waged.  At- 
tention has  already  (§  223,  293,  340)  been  repeatedly 
called  to  the  growing  influence  and  political  ambition  of 
the  Chaldsean  principalities  lying  between  Babylon  and 
the  sea.  The  most  important  of  these  had  become  vassals 
of  Tiglathpileser  III,  and  were,  therefore,  of  right  the 
tributaries  of  his  successors.  But  one  of  the  most  ambi- 
tious of  their  rulers,  Merodach-baladan  by  name  (^Marduk- 
apil'iddin,  "Merodach  has  given  a  son"),  who  is  familiar 
to  us  from  Isa.  xxxix.,  was  not  content  with  this  humiliat- 
ing position.  Along  with  his  patriotic  desire  to  throw  off 
the  3'oke  of  Assyria,  he  cherished  a  personal  aspiration  to 
become  kirg  of  Babylon.  He  had  (§  340)  sworn  allegiance 
to  Tiglathpileser  in  731,  and  for  ten  years,  or  until  the  death 
of  Shalmaneser,  had  apparently  made  no  disturbance.  But 
all  the  while  he  had  been  cultivating  friendship  with  the 
neighbouring  princes,  most  of  whom  were  his  fellow-sub- 
jects, and,  what  was  of  more  consequence,  with  the  powerful 
king  of  Elam.  These  friends  being  thus  secured,  he  was 
able,  upon  the  accession  of  Sargon,  to  convert  them  into 
active  allies  in  his  anti-Assyrian  crusade. 

§  622.  A  striking  parallel  suggests  itself  between  the 
relations  to  Assyria  of  the  extreme  southwest  and  those 
of  the  extreme  southeast.  Just  as  in  the  West-land,  strife 
and  insubordination  were  stirred  up  by  Egypt  against  the 
all-devouring  realm  of  Asshur,  so  in  the  eastern  Sea-land 
the  same  part  was  played  by  Elam  —  a  nation  of  equal 


Ch.  I,  §  623 


SARGON  AND  THE   ELAMITES 


239 


antiquity  and  with  immemorial  traditions  of  a  dominion 
once  extending  as  widely  as  that  now  claimed  by  Saigon 
(§  106  ff.).  Since  the  expulsion  of  the  Elamites  fifteen 
centuries  before  under  the  great  Chanimurabi  (§  117),  they 
had  taken  very  little  part  in  the  affairs  of  Babylonia, 
though  at  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century  they  gave  a 
king  to  Babylon.  Still  less  had  they  to  do  with  Assyria. 
Yet  now,  when  Assyrian  conquest  was  approaching  the 
Gulf  and  passing  beyond  the  Tigris,  they  began  to  show 
themselves  formidable  opponents  of  the  aggressors,  and  it 
was  not  till  nearly  a  century  after  the  accession  of  Sargon 
that  they  were  finally  subdued.  Meanwhile  they  furnished 
aid  and  comfort  to  the  struggling  princes  of  liabylonia ; 
and  if  the  whole  truth  were  known  it  would  probably  be 
found  that  with  and  without  these  allies  they  often  proved 
to  be  a  match  for  the  northern  invaders. 

§  623.  The  first  movement  of  Merodach-baladan  was 
to  take  possession  of  Babylon  and  make  it  his  capital.  He 
was  there  proclaimed  king  in  Nisan  of  721,  three  montlis 
exactly  after  the  fall  of  Samaria,  and  precisely  at  the  begin- 
ning of  Sargon's  official  reign.  As  soon  as  it  was  possible, 
Sargon  invaded  Babylonia.  He  was  met  in  battle  by  the 
ally  of  the  Babylonians,  Humbanigas^  king  of  Elam ;  and, 
though  he  ascribes  the  victory  to  himself,  it  is  plain  from 
the  impartial  Babylonian  chronicle  that  the  battle  was  at 
least  indecisive,  and  that  the  Assyrians  were  compelled  to 
retreat  from  the  country.  The  battle  was  fought  without 
the  presence  of  Merodach-baladan,  but  when  he  came  to 
reinforce  the  Elamites,  the  allies  were  so  strong  that  the 
southern  portion  of  Assyria  itself  was  overrun  by  them,  and 
great  losses  were  inflicted  upon  the  inhabitants.^  Indeed, 
it  was  not  till  eleven  years  after  this-  that  Sargon  felt  him- 
self strong  enough  to  venture  another  attempt  to  depose  his 
rival  from  the  throne  of  Babylon.  That  the  allies  did  not 
pursue  their  advantage  further  is  probably  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  difficulties  which  Merodach-baladan  had  to  con- 


: 

If' 


"1 


I 
J 

,  ii  if 
1*1 


^  See  Note  2  in  Appendix. 


T 


ip""^ 


mm 


11 
f  if '  I 


240 


HAMATH  AND  ITS  ALLIES 


PviOK  VIII 


tend  with  in  keeping  in  subjection  the  ruling  classes  in 
Babylon,  which  had  for  some  time  coveted  the  protection  of 
Assyria  (cf.  §  339,  341).  Sargon  was  sagacious  enough  to 
let  the  question  of  the  Babylonian  succession  rest  till  he 
had  settled  the  disturbed  affairs  of  the  rest  of  the  empire. 

§  624.  He  was  now  immediately  recalled  to  the  extreme 
west,  where  the  emissaries  of  Egypt  had  been  plotting 
against  his  authority  with  a  large  measure  of  success.  A 
combination  was  formed  which  it  was  hoped  would  unite 
all  the  principalities  of  the  West-land.  These  were  fewer 
and  feebler  than  they  had  been  before  the  conquests  of  the 
great  Tiglathpileser.  Damascus,  now  only  the  shadow  of 
its  former  self,  and  the  "Land  of  Omri,"  were  under  Assyr- 
ian administration,  and  Central  and  Northern  Syria  had 
been  so  industriously  colonized  that  there  would  seem  to 
be  little  hope  of  encouraging  revolt.  But  the  malcontents 
were  numerous,  and  were  easily  persuaded  that  the  new 
untried  king  of  Assyria  would  have  more  than  enough  to 
attend  to  in  the  north  and  southeast.  Hamath,  which  had 
suffered  so  severely  in  the  closing  days  of  Uzziah  of  Judah 
(§  307),  became  now  the  centre  of  disturbance,  and,  under 
the  lead  of  an  adventurer  apparently  of  Israelitish  origin 
(as  we  may  judge  from  his  name,  Ilubi'id  or  Yahubi'id),i 
secured  the  alliance  of  Arpad,  Simirra,  Damascus,  and 
Samaria  (cf.  §  364).  The  leader  of  this  desperate  under- 
taking took  his  stand  at  Karkar,  the  scene  of  the  famous 
battle  of  854  (§  228  ff.),  without  his  allies.  Here  the  re- 
volters  were  defeated,  and  Sargon,  in  whose  ej'es  the  defec- 
tion of  Hamath  must  have  seemed  especially  flagrant, 
flayed  Iliibi'id  alive  as  an  exemplary  punishment. 

§  625.  Eager  to  strike  at  the  fountain  head  of  the 
trouble,  the  Assyrian  king  marched  immediately  down 
the  Mediterranean  coast.  Reaching  Gaza,  he  drove  out 
Chanun,  its  kinglet,  who  again  fled  for  refuge  to  Egypt, 
as  he  had  fled  from  Tiglathpileser  thirteen  years  before 
(§  332).     Seve  (S'ifiu),  the  prince  of  Lower  Egypt,  with 

^  Vol.  i,  p.  415.     ZA.  X,  222  ff.  denies  all  coimectiou  with  Yahw6. 


Cii.  I,  §  626 


PALESTINE   AND   EGYPT 


241 


whom  Hoshea  had  intrigued  (§  343,  348),  came  to  his 
relief.  But  these  allies  were  in  their  turn  defeated  at 
Raphia  (Assyrian  Rapihu,  the  modern  Blr-Iiefu),  south- 
west of  Gaza,  on  the  coast,  and  Seve  retired  to  his  safe 
retreat  in  the  Delta ;  while  Chanun  was  taken  and  carried 
captive  to  the  city  of  Asshur.  That  his  life  was  spared  is 
certainly  not  without  significance  in  the  policy  of  Assyria. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  the  same  leniency  had  been  mani- 
fested to  Hoshea  (§  350).  Further,  it  would  seem  that 
Palestinian  princes  were  very  seldom  put  to  death,  even  on 
account  of  rebellion  (cf.  §  644).  The  object  apparently 
was  to  show  to  those  who  came  directly  under  Egyptian 
influence,  and  therefore  needed  to  be  specially  conciliated, 
that  the  yoke  of  Asshur  was  not  galling.  The  treatment 
of  Palestine  was  a  matter  of  extreme  difficulty  to  Assyrian 
diplomacy,  and  the  mixture  of  rigour  and  gentleness  which 
is  manifested  in  the  speech  of  Sinacherib's  legate  (2  K. 
xviii.)  was  typical  of  the  whole  policy.  Sargon  had  n(j 
farther  trouble  from  the  side  of  Egypt  during  the  reign  of 
Sabako  (§  347  f.).  As  a  matter  of  course  Judah  renewed  its 
allegiance  to  Assyria  during  this  visit  of  Sargon.  The 
Palestinians  had  been  severely  crippled  and  were  for  a  time 
thoroughly  humbled.  Samaria  now  remained  permanently 
loyal.  Nor  do  we  hear  of  further  trouble  from  the  side  of 
Damascus.  Sabako  was  not  strong  enough  at  home  to  use 
Palestine  as  the  base  of  active  operations  against  Assyria, 
and  he  was  compelled  to  cease  his  machinations.  He  died 
about  715,  and  was  succeeded  b}'  his  son  Sabataka  (715- 
703),  who  will  come  under  our  notice  later  (§  030,  632). 

§  626.  Meanwhile  Sargon  was  called  to  action  in  the 
northerly  portion  of  liis  liereditary  sphere  of  influence. 
Here  he  was  kept  busy  for  the  greater  part  of  the  next 
eight  years,  dissolvijig  combinations,  putting  down  insur- 
rections, forming  new  provinces  out  of  the  fragments  of 
subjugated  districts ;  in  a  word,  striving  to  unify  and 
assimilate  the  whole  vast  domain  that  stretched  from 
Cilicia  to  Media  under  a  perpetual  bond  of  common  servi- 

R 


Ui 


' 


242 


COMBINATIONS  IN  THE   NORTH 


Book  VIII 


I     I 


tude  and  a  common  worship.  The  story  of  his  campaigns 
presented  in  his  own  annals  is  not  very  clear.  Indeed,  these 
northern  wars  are  in  general  the  least  intelligible  portion  of 
Assyrian  history,  mainly  on  account  of  our  lack  of  exact 
knowledge  of  some  of  the  localities  as  well  as  our  general 
unfamiliarity  with  the  peoples  of  these  regions,  their  ante- 
cedents and  their  types  of  civilization.  One  thing,  at  least, 
is  plain  which  does  not  lie  on  the  surface  of  the  official 
Assyrian  records :  Sargon  must  have  met  with  several  seri- 
ous reverses.  Otherwise  we  cannot  account  for  the  quick 
recovery  from  disaster  and  the  power  of  prolonged  resistance 
manifested  by  the  peoples  whom  the  Great  King  assures  us 
he  so  often  subdued.  As  we  are  more  directly  concerned 
with  those  nations  whose  fortunes  immediately  affected  the 
people  of  Israel  and  the  progress  jf  Revelation,  it  will  not 
be  in  place  to  narrate  minutely  the  campaigns  of  Sargon  in 
the  regions  of  the  north.  A  brief  r^sum^  of  the  results  is, 
however,  indispensable. 

§  627.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  main  difficulties 
were  encountered  in  two  great  regions,  the  country  lying 
to  the  east  of  the  Upper  Tigris  on  the  one  hand,  and  those 
on  the  west  of  the  Euphrates  on  the  other.  The  interven- 
ing region  seems,  at  this  time,  to  have  been  kept  pretty 
well  in  hand,  and  indeed  the  country  north  of  Charran  and 
Nisibis  had  occasioned  very  little  trouble  since  the  days 
of  Asshurnasirpal  (^  218).  Of  the  western  lands,  Mitii, 
king  of  the  Moschi,  was  the  insurrectionary  leader.  Of  the 
eastern,  Rusa,  king  of  Ararat  or  Armenia,  was  the  guid- 
ing spirit.  With  the  former  were  drawn  into  sympathy  all 
the  discontented  tribes  as  far  south  as  Northern  Syria, 
while  the  latter  had  for  his  allies  the  peoples  on  both  sides 
of  the  Lakes  as  well  as  the  western  Medes.  The  task 
of  dealing  simultaneously  with  the  insurgents  scattered 
throughout  these  wide  areas  must  have  been  divided  with 
his  generals  by  Sargon,  who  could  not  have  been  so 
ubiquitous  as  his  annals  taken  literally  would  make  us 
believe. 


f 


Ch.  I,  §  021) 


CARCHEMISH   AND   ARMENIA 


243 


§  628.  In  719  a  revolt,  instigated  by  Rusa  in  the 
Assyrian  province  of  Manna,  south  of  Lake  Van,  and  sup- 
ported by  a  neighbouring  prince,  was  put  down  by  Sargon, 
and  many  of  the  insurgents  transported  to  Damascus. 
In  718  the  chief  theatre  of  action  was  Tabal  (Tiba- 
rene),  where  an  outbreak  was  put  down  and  the  leaders 
sent  to  Assyria.  In  the  following  year  a  more  wide- 
spread revolt  was  set  on  foot.  Carchemish,  which  since 
its  unsuccessful  rising  against  Shalmaneser  II  (§  2'J.l) 
had  remained  quiescent  and  had  contirnied  its  allegiance 
to  Tiglathpileser  III  after  the  capture  of  Arpad  (§  294), 
was  now  ruled  by  a  prince  of  the  ancient  Iluttite 
line,  Pisiris  by  name.  This  ruler,  perhaps  in  conse- 
quence of  kinship  with  some  of  the  ^loschi,  received 
assistance  from  that  people  in  an  attempt  to  throw  off 
the  Assyrian  yoke.  Defeat  and  deportation  followed  this 
enterprise  also,  while  the  Assyrian  treasury  at  Kalach 
was  enriched  Avith  an  enormous  booty  taken  from  tliis 
wealthiest  of  the  old  merchant  cities  on  the  immemorial 
route  of  Asiatic  trade.  The  Moschcean  allies  were  not 
yet  subdued. 

§  629.  In  the  northeast  a  terrific  struggle  was  waged 
in  the  two  succeeding  years.  Rusa  succeeded  in  effecting 
a  much  larger  combination  than  before  and  in  loosening 
the  hold  of  the  Assyrians  upon  most  of  the  tribes  from 
Lake  Van  to  the  Median  settlements  far  to  the  east  of 
Lake  Urmia,^  and  southwards  to  the  very  borders  of 
Assyria  proper.  In  715  the  revolt  had  attained  its 
widest  dimensions,  when  the  northwest  was  again  also 
in  a  state  of  confusion.  The  enemies  of  Asshur  were, 
however,  routed  one  by  one,  and  in  714  Rusii  himself, 
bereft  of  all\'^  after  ally  in  successive  defeats,  and  pur- 
sued by  the  intrepid  warriors  of  Sargon  to  his  inmost 
retreat  in  the  mountains  of  Armenia,  put  an  end  to  his 
life  with  his  own  dagger.  But  in  the  west  the  subju- 
gation of  Carchemish  had  not  quenched  the  independent 

1  See  Note  3  in  Appendix. 


11 


(I 


i\:i 


m 


' 


1*!  i'- 


I 


•piii 


H: 


M4 


ARABIAN  EXPEDITION 


Book  VIII 


1; 
I 

m 


I' 


I ' 


i 


spirit  of  the  insurgents.  New  allies  along  with  the  Mos- 
ehseans  joined  their  ranks,  encouraged  by  the  doubtful 
issue  of  the  conflict  in  Ararat.  Considerable  sections  of 
the  whole  region  from  Cilicia  (Kue)  to  the  Euphrates 
were  in  arms  in  715.  Their  complete  subjugation  was 
not  accomplished  till  711,  when  western  Cappadocia 
(Gamgum)  followed  Tabal  and  Milid  (jNIelitene)  into 
forced  submission. 

§  630.  But  even  the  details  of  these  operations,  ex- 
tensive as  they  were,  would  not  fully  indicate  the  activity 
of  Sargon  at  this  critical  period.  At  least  for  several 
years  after  the  revolt  of  Carchemish  (717)  an  Assyrian 
army  was  busily  occupied  in  securing  the  allegiance  of 
the  more  southerly  tribes  of  the  west,  with  those  already 
made  tributary  by  Tiglathpileser.  For  715,  the  year  of 
supreme  effort,  the  record  runs :  "  The  tribes  of  Tamud  and 
Ibadid,  Marsiman  and  Hayapa,  far-off  Arabians,  inhabitants 
of  the  wilderness,  of  whom  no  sage  or  scholar  had  known, 
who  had  hitherto  brought  tribute  to  no  king,  I  smote  in 
the  service  of  Asshur  my  lord ;  the  rest  of  them  I  carried 
away  and  settled  in  Samaria.  From  Pharaoh,  king  of 
Egypt,  SamsT,  queen  of  Arabia  (§  334),  and  Ithamar  of 
Sabsea,  kings  of  the  seacoast  and  of  the  wilderness,  I 
received  as  their  tribute,  gold  the  product  of  the  mines, 
precious  stones,  ivory,  tihi  plants,  spices  of  all  sorts, 
horses  and  camels."  ^  From  this  instructive  passage  we 
learn  that  an  army  was  sent  south  of  Palestine,  and  that 
the  caravan  roads  were  once  more  secured  for  Assyria 
after  the  necessary  chastisement  and  deportation  of  some 
of  the  fiercer  Midianitish  tribes.  We  observe  further  that 
the  effect  of  the  demonstration  extended  to  Egyi)t,  which 
now  for  the  first  time  in  its  history,  under  the  Ethiopian 
Pharaoh,  Sabataka  (vol.  i,  p.  423),  acknowledged  the 
superiority  of  Assyria,  and  even  to   the   most   powerful 


>  Annals,  04-99;  cf.  Cyl.  20.  IJaijapa  is  the  "Epha"  (nc;)  of  Gen. 
XXV.  4 ;  Isa.  Ix.  6.  See  Par.  304,  and  for  the  other  localities  KGF.  263, 
and  §  334  of  this  work. 


Cii.  I,  §  632 


EXPEDITION  TO  ASHDOD 


246 


mercantile  nation  of  the  Arabian  peninsula.  After  com- 
pleting the  subjugation  and  settlement  of  the  whole  region 
west  of  the  Euphrates,  Sargon  employed  the  year  71  li  in 
securing  the  richest  treasures  of  the  country,  especially  in 
precious  metals  and  stones.  So  great  was  the  abundance 
of  silver  thus  amassed  that  he  claims  to  have  reduced 
its  price  to  that  of  copper  in  Assyria.' 

§  631.  In  711  we  have  to  note  the  famous  expedition 
to  Ashdod,  of  which  special  account  is  taken  not  only  by 
Hebrew  Prophecy,  but  also  by  King  Sargon  himself.  He- 
sides  other  notices,  he  has  left  an  inscription  devoted  solely 
to  that  enterprise.'^  These  facts  indicate  the  imi)ortance 
of  the  event,  or  rather  of  the  circumstances  which  occa- 
sioned it.  The  revolt  of  a  single  canton  was  in  itself  of 
little  consequence  to  a  power  like  the  Assyrian,  but  it 
became  significant  in  this  case  because  of  what  it  implied. 
It  was  symptomatic  of  widespread  discontent,  of  a  possible 
explosion  of  the  inflammable  elements  of  Palestinian  society, 
to  which  Egypt  was  eager  to  contribute  the  igniting  spark. 
The  danger  was  indeed  great,  or  rather  would  become 
great,  unless  this  insurrectionary  movement  were  stifled 
at  the  beginning. 

§  632.  The  situation  at  Ashdod  was  this.  Azuri,  the 
former  ruler  of  that  city,  had  been  deposed  by  the  Assyri- 
ans (probably  in  715)  for  refusing  tribute  and  endeavour- 
ing to  unite  the  other  states  of  Palestine  in  revolt,  and  his 
more  loyal  brother  Ahimiti  was  enthroned  in  his  place. 
Subjection  to  foreign  rule  was,  however,  still  unpopular, 
and  a  certain  adventurer  of  Greek  extraction  succeeded 
in  setting  him  aside  and  maintaining  the  antagonism  to 
Assyria.  A  select  body  of  veterans  of  the  body-guard, 
with  horses  and  chariots,  was  sent  against  Ashdod  l)y 
Sargon.  It  reached  that  cit}'  before  any  successful  com- 
bination could  take  place  in  Palestine,  or  any  effectual  aid 
could  arrive  from  Egypt,  whose  promised  support  was 
in  any  case  problematical.     Ashdod,  Avith  a  dependency 


i 


Hi 


V- 


ill 


ii 

t 
■  ! 

1  :'  1 


1  AunalH,  207  f. 


2  ST.  pi.  44. 


>     t 

i  ■ 


M 


1 


246 


ASHDOD  AND  JUDAH 


Book  VIII 


named  Asdudimmu,  and  the  famous  old  Philistian  city  of 
Gath,  which  seems  to  have  been  at  this  time  absorbed  in 
Ashdod,  were  quickly  taken.  The  Ionian  usurper  fled  to 
Egypt,  whence  he  was  delivered  up  to  the  Assyrians  by 
Sabataka.,  the  king  of  that  country,  who,  after  his  propitia- 
tion of  Sargon  (§  630)  and  his  renewed  intrigues,  must 
have  dreaded  an  inviision  of  his  territory  by  the  victorious 
troops  of  that  monarch.  The  captured  cities  lost  many  of 
their  inhabitants  by  deportation  ;  and  these  were  re[)laced 
by  exiles  from  other  portions  of  the  empire.  Thus  Philis- 
tia  was  formally  made  an  Assyrian  province. 

§  638.  The  other  maritime  principalities,  as  Sargon 
calls  them.  Judali,  Edom,  and  Moab,  were  concerned  in 
the  conspiracy,  in  so  far  as  they  had  negotiated  with 
Egypt  for  an  alliance  in  the  projected  revolt  in  concert 
with  Ashdod.*  Hut  as  there  is  no  record,  either  in  the 
Annals  or  in  the  synoptic  Inscriptions,  which  give  a  full 
sununary  of  Sargon's  campaigns,  that  they  had  been 
engaged  in  actual  armed  rebellion  or  invaded  by  the 
eytieditionary  force,  we  may  safely  conclude  that  Sargon's 
lieutenant  was  satisfied  with  prompt  submission  on  their 
part  and  the  customary  indemnity.  Accordingly  the  hy- 
pothesis of  an  actual  invasion  and  devastation  of  Judah 
by  Sargon,  which  has  been  entertained  by  Cheyne,  Sayce, 
and  others,  may  be  dismissed  as  untenable.  It  is  not 
necessary,  as  we  shall  see  (§  687,  722),  for  the  explana- 
tion of  Isa.  X.,  and  inasmuch  as  such  an  invasion  would 
necessarily  hove  included  the  other  principalities  just  men- 
tioned, operations  on  so  large  a  scale  could  not  have  es- 
caped mention  in  the  annals  of  the  conqueror.  Besides, 
we  must  remembf  that  there  is  no  evidence  from  any 
quarter  that  Judah  or  the  kindred  states  of  Edom  anil 
Moab  were  put  under  Assyrian  administration  or  stripi)ed 
of  their  inhabitants,  as  was  the  case  with  Aslidotl.  Sin- 
acherib  began  to  do  this  with  Judah  ten  years  later 
(§  675  ff.),  but  that  stage  had  not  yet  been  reached,  nor 


>  See  Note  4  in  Appi'udix. 


Cii.  I,  §  633 


PALESTINE   PACIFIED 


247 


had  Judah  ineiited  such  treatment  by  any  conduct  of 
which  we  have  information  (of.  §  288).  On  the  other 
hand,  the  peace  of  the  West  must  have  been  considered 
by  Sargon  to  have  been  pretty  well  secured  by  the  opera- 
tions of  715.  He  knew  that  Palestine,  though  it  was  in  a 
chronic  state  of  discontent,  was  helpless  without  the  su|)- 
port  of  Egypt,  and  being  well  aware  of  the  weakness  of 
tlie  reigning  king,  he  calculated  rightly  upon  the  suth- 
ciency  of  a  small  body  of  chosen  troops,  under  his  lieuten- 
ant-general, to  put  an  end  to  the  trouble  in  Ashdod,  and 
with  that  to  the  projected  Palestinian  rising.  Then  he 
felt  that  his  hands  were  free  to  attend  to  the  more  serious 
difficulties  in  Bjibylonia.  And  yet  we  must  assume  that 
Judah  at  this  time  renewed  its  allegiance  with  payment 
of  tribute,  and  had  to  submit  to  more  rigorous  terms  than 
those  imposed  originally  in  consequence  of  the  defensive 
league  with  Ahaz  (§  326,  336).i 

1  See  NoU'  5  in  AppeaUiz. 


<||M 


I    ;! 


'  ■'!' 


V   1 


i'  >> 


i>- 


CIIAPTKR    II 


.lUDAH    UNDEU    Ahr.VZ    AND    THK    ASSYKIAN    I'OLICY 


§  634.  The  significance  attached  by  the  statesman- 
prophet,  Isaiah,  to  tlie  siege  of  Ashdod  (Isa.  xx.),  sug- 
gests to  us  that  this  event  marked  a  critical  period  in  the 
international  relations  of  Judali.  It  will,  therefore,  ho 
necessary  for  us  to  review  the  history  and  prophecy  of 
the  times  from  the  point  last  reached  by  our  survey,  the 
fall  of  Samaria,  in  722-1.  The  revolt  of  Ashdod(711) 
exactly  bisects  the  period  between  that  catastrophe  and 
the  more  fanioiis  invasion  of  Sinacherib  (701 ).  The 
first  in(juiry  mriM  be  of  a  chronological  ciiaracter:  Who 
reigned  in  Judah  during  the  yeai's  we  have  just  been 
traversing?  Was  it  the  weak-minded  and  idolatrous  Ahaz 
or  the  enterprising  and  (lod-fearing  Ile/ckiah?  The  im- 
portance of  the  answer  need  !iot  be  pointed  out. 

15  68.").  We  have  seen  (§  2f)9,  317)  that  Ahaz  cannot 
have  come  ♦o  the  throne  later  than  73,').  2  K.  xvi.  2 
informs  us  that  he  reigned  sixteen  years,  This  would 
bring  his  reign  to  a  close  in  720.  As  to  Ilezekiuh's  acces- 
sion we  have  two  sets  of  dates.  It  is  said  in  2  Iv.  xviii.  !♦  f. 
that  Shalmaneser  came  against  Samaria  in  the  fourth  year 
of  Hezekiah,  and  tliat  the  city  was  taken  in  his  sixth 
year  (722-1 ).  That  would  make  the  date  of  his  acces- 
.■»ion  727.  Again,  2  K.  xviii.  13  states  that  Sinacherib 
invade  »  Judah  in  Ilczekiah's  f»»urtecnth  year.  As  that 
event  is  known  to  have  occurred  in  701,  Hezekiah,  accord- 
ing to  this  reckoning,  must  have  acceded  in  715.  Wo 
thus  have  in  reality  three  different  dates,  727,  720,  and 

L'JH 


Cii.  II,  §  ♦io7 


CHRONOLOGICAL   PATA 


•24\» 


71o.  The  tiist  two  miglit  possilily  bo  reconciled,  if  we 
chose  to  sup[)0.se  that  lle/ekiah  was  associated  with  his 
father  in  the  government  seven  years  before  the  death  of 
the  latter,  so  that  720  would  thus  l)c  eliminated.  Only 
theoretical  possibility  can  be  claimed  for  this  assumption, 
for  which  we  have  not  tljc  least  evidence  of  any  sort. 
And  we  have  still  this  difllculty  in  connection  with  any 
of  the  dates  (cf.  vol.  i,  Note  12  in  Appendix),  that 
according  to  2  Iv.  xviii.  2,  Hez.ekiah  was  twenty-live  years 
of  age  at  his  accession,  while  his  father,  since  he  was 
twenty  years  old  when  he  acceded  (2  K.  xvi.  2),  nnist 
have  been  born  about  Too,  oidy  a  few  years  before  the 
birth  of  He/ekiah.  It  is  alleged  in  favour  of  715  that 
Isa.  xxxviii.,  as  well  as  2  K.  xx.,  seem  to  make  the 
sickness  of  He/.ekiah  synchronous  with  the  invasion  of 
Sinacherib  (7<>1).  Now,  as  llezekiah  lived  iifleen  years 
after  his  recovery,  his  death  would  then  have  taken  jilaee 
in  686,  and  his  reign  of  twenty-nine  years  have  begun  in 
715  or  714.  If  this  is  the  correct  or  approximate  date, 
Ahaz  must  have  reigned  twenty  years  instead  of  ••sixteen." 

§  030.  Is  there  any  way  out  of  this  maze  of  contradic- 
tions? We  naturally  ask  what  sorts  of  data  are  the  liioht 
to  be  deferred  to?  It  will,  I  think,  Ik;  admitted  on  all 
hands  that  the  reijorted  length  of  any  reign,  which  was 
presumably  a  matter  of  record,  is  a  nuich  safer  guide  than 
a  numerical  sym-hronism  connected  with  any  given  year 
of  that  reign,  which  was  of  coui-se  a  matter  of  calculation. 
Again,  of  different  sorts  of  syncluonisms,  that  which  con- 
nects two  memorable  events  is  evidently  of  more  weight 
than  one  of  the  numerical  kind  just  mentioned,  which  in 
the  lirst  place  is  based  on  abstract  rei-koning,  and  in  the 
next  place  is  liable  to  accidental  clerical  alteration  through 
the  absence  of  any  obvious  external  eheck,  such  as  that 
afforded  in  tlie  other  class  of  cases  by  popular  aciiuaintance 
with  epochs  of  history. 

{;  037.  Let  us  a[ii)ly  these  canons  to  the  (p)estion  before 
us.     What  is,  aftei'  all,  the  most  i)rol)al»le  date  of  the  sick- 


'J' 


V 

i 


i  If  Pi 


^lli 


m 


260 


A   I'RUPOSEl)  SOLUTION 


Book  VIII 


ness  of  Ilezekiah?  2  K.  xx.  1  and  Isa.  xxxviii.  1  connect 
that  occurrence  only  vaguely  with  the  invasion  of  Sin- 
acherib,  according  to  the  common  loose  formula  "in  those 
days,"  which  is  about  equivalent  to  "in  those  times." 
One  thing,  however,  is  clear:  it  took  place  before  the 
invasion,  according  to  the  express  testimony  of  2  K.  xx.  6 
and  Isa.  xxxviii.  6.  But  there  is  another  event  associated 
immediately  with  hezekiah's  sickness,  the  emba.ssy  of 
Merodach-baladan,  king  of  Babylon,  of  which  it  is  said 
with  an  exact  indication  of  time :  "  At  that  time  Mero- 
dach-baladan, king  of  Babylon,  sent  a  letter  and  a  present 
to  King  Ilezekiah,  for  he  had  heard  that  Hezekiah  had 
l)een  sick."  When  did  these  negotiations  take  place?  Not 
in  701,  for  then  Merodach-baladan  was  no  longer  king  of 
Babylon  (5^  072),  but  most  probably  in  705,  the  year  of  the 
accession  of  the  new  king,  Sinacherib,  against  whom  the 
indomitable  ("haldjean  ho[)ed  to  raise  up  a  general  combi- 
nation after  the  death  of  the  dreaded  Sargon  (cf.  §  621). 

§  638.  If,  then,  these  fifteen  years  are  to  be  counted 
from  705,  we  get  690  or  691  as  the  close  of  Hezekiah's 
reign,  and  719  or  720  as  its  beginning.  This  agrees  with 
the  sixteen  years  of  the  reign  of  Ahaz,  and  should,  I  think, 
have  the  preference  over  either  727  or  715,  especially  as  no 
correction  is  now  needed  for  any  of  the  Biblical  figures, 
leaving  out  numerical  synchronisms,  excei)t  for  the  age 
of  Ilezekiah.  If  we  suppose  that  "twenty-five,"  for  the 
years  of  Hezekiah's  age,  is  a  clerical  error  for  fifteen  in 
the  Hebre..-,  —  a  very  slight  and  easy  mistake,  —  all  the 
conditions  of  the  case  are  satisfied.  The  following  is  a 
scheme  of  the  results : '  — 


Dale  i>f  »rceit«lt)n. 

Agi>  at  •ci>i>»»iiin. 

Lonirtli  of  ri'l^u. 

Dktf  of  (lektii 

Ahaz 

c.  7:$;') 

m 

16 

71!) 

IIe/L>kiah 

719 

w 

21) 

600 

§  639.     The  reign  of  Ahaz  was  supremely  critical  for 
.hulali,  both  politically  and  religiously.    Uzziah  and  Jotham 


'  See  Note  6  In  Appeiulix. 


dm. 


Ch.  II,  §  640 


DEFERENCE  TO   ASSYRIA 


251 


had  brought  the  little  kingdoi 


of  infli 


o  a  position  oi  intiuence 
^■>th  in  war  and  commerce,  and  had  made  their  people 
acquainted  with  some  of  the  wider  movements  of  the 
great  world  outside  the  narrow  horizon  of  Judaic  politics. 
But  the  early  years  of  Ahaz,  which  had  beheld  the  great 
Tiglathpileser  marching  at  his  will  over  the  length  and 
breadth  of  Palestine,  and  had  seen  the  Judaite  king  wel- 
come him  as  his  deliverer  and  own  him  as  suzerain, 
witnessed  also  an  inner  transformation  as  significant  as 
this  outward  revolution.  The  triumph  of  the  irresistible 
Assyrians  brought  with  it  to  Ahaz  and  to  most  of  his 
people  not  only  the  evidence  of  invincible  military  power, 
but  also  tokens  of  the  possession  of  singular  supernatural 
favour.  The  acknowledgment  of  the  superiority  of  the 
Assyrian  gods,  which  this  vassalage  made  obligatory  (§  01, 
299),  was  commended  alike  to  tlieir  interest,  their  preju- 
dices, and  their  imagination.  The  deference  due  to  the 
deities  of  their  protectoi-s  could,  in  superstitious  minds, 
be  scarcely  withheld  from  a  religion  of  such  immemorial 
sway  and  of  such  unrivalled  prestige,  in  its  triumphant 
progress  among  the  nations  and  in  the  pomp  and  splendour 
of  its  observance.  One  can  imagine  the  impression  made 
upon  Ahaz  and  his  courtiers  by  what  they  oliserved  at  the 
great  <lurhar  at  Damascus  (§  330 ) :  the  submission  of  so 
many  princes,  the  imperial  haughtiness  of  the  coiuiueror, 
and  the  shrines  once  dedicated  to  the  terrible  but  now 
dethroned  and  impotent  gods  of  Syria,  lieie  beset  with 
imiiges  of  the  vii'torious  deities  supreme  over  all. 

§  040.  That  the  weak  and  impres.sionable  soul  of  the 
youthful  Ahaz  was  deeitly  nftVeted  by  these  influences  we 
have  evidenee  from  the  Hiblical  narrative.  We  are  told 
that  the  model  of  a  ei'itain  altar  which  he  had  seen  dniing 
his  visit  was,  b)  his  fommaiid,  adopted  for  tlie  regular 
temple  services,  to  the  exclusion  ot  the  old  more  siin|tle 
bra/.en  altar,  whose  plae««  it  took  between  the  court  and 
the  sanetiiaiy  jiro|K?T.  .lust  as  at  lii»t,  when  tlie  Syrians 
began  lo  gain  like  upper  hand,  he  adored  the  gods  wlucii 


111' 


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fill 


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'      I' 


I'll     I 


ii 


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m 
m 


I  i  ■ , . 


w 


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Ml 


if 


S62 


RELIGIOUS  AND  MURAL  DECLINE         Book  VIII 


!1 


% 


i 


seemed  to  give  them  the  victory  (2  Chr.  xxviii.  23),  so 
now  the  worship  of  their  conquerors  became  in  turn  the 
object  of  his  servile  imitation,  in  as  far  as  it  was  possible 
in  a  nation  still  owing  outward  allegiance  to  Jehovah. ^ 
It  is  easily  understood  that  in  such  innovations  he  had  the 
sympathy  of  the  rulii.g  class,  when  even  a  priest  of  the 
standing  of  Urijah  (cf.  Isa.  viii.  2)  carried  out  unhesi- 
tatingly his  views  with  regard  to  the  Temple  usages. 
Other  adaptations  to  the  customs  of  the  ruling  nation 
were  gradually  introduced.  While  the  possession  of  a 
sundial  (2  K.  xx.  9  ff.)  simply  evidenced  a  disposition  to 
profit  in  practical  matters  from  the  scientific  acquisitions 
of  the  Babylonians,  the  fitting  up  of  an  astrological  ob- 
servatory, with  accompanying  sacrificial  altars,  testified  to 
the  firm  hold  taken  of  Ahaz  by  the  religious  customs  of 
the  conquerors  of  the  world  (2  K.  xxiii.  12). 

§  641.  With  this  relaxing  of  the  national  bond  of 
religious  unity,  effected  by  such  a  compromise  and  sur- 
render of  faith  and  worehip,  there  came  the  inevitable 
acceleration  of  moral  decline  and  corruption.  Here  again 
we  have  to  take  the  Prophets  of  the  period  as  our  guides. 
Isaiah  has  left  us  one  of  his  most  vivid  and  powerful 
pictures  of  contemi)orary  life  and  action  in  a  [jntphecy 
describing  the  condition  of  .Iiidah  and  Jerusalem  after 
more  than  ten  yeaw'  experience  of  the  rule  of  Ahaz. 
The  text  of  this  matchless  Old  Testament  sermon  (Isa. 
xxviii.)  was  tlie  imjjcndiiig  fall  of  Samaria.  Its  bearing 
ujK)!!  thai  city  and  kingdom  we  have  already  considered 
( §  Sao).  The  discourse  was  wholly  compcjbed  in  the 
interest  of  the  Prophet's  own  country  ;  and  so,  after  a 
glance  of  mingled  sternness  and  pity  at  the  beautiful  city 
of  the  north.  l)orne  down  to  hopeless  destniction  in  her 
godless  iVivohty  and  delKiuchery,  he  tunis  to  his  comjia- 
triots  and  upbraids  them,  in  a  tone  of  equal  severity,  for 
vices  just  such  as  those  tliat  l)rought  ruin  to  Samaria.  It 
was   precisely   this  sin   of    uncontrolled    self-indulgence. 


^  iSee  Note  7  iu  Appcudix. 


Ch.  II,  §  643 


THE   CENSURE  OF   ISATAH 


253 


especially  in  the  form  of  inebriety  (of.  §  590),  which  was 
now  rampant  in  Jerusalem,  and  that  to  a  degree  incredible 
to  those  who  fancy  that  "the  drinking-customs  of  the 
present  day  "  are  a  distinctive  feature  of  modern  life,  and 
of  western  civilization.  To  such  lengths  had  the  unbridled 
license  of  the  ruling  classes  been  carried  that  the  courts  of 
justice  and  the  ordinances  of  religion  were  vitiated  by  the 
habitual  drunkenness  of  their  ministers. 

§  642.  The  salvation  and  defence,  the  moral  beauty 
and  glory,  of  Judah,  as  of  Samaria,  came  from  the  justice 
and  righteousness  of  Jehovah  of  Hosts,  and  through  his 
true  worsliip  and  service.  He  himself  would  be  a  s[)irit 
of  judgment  to  the  guides  of  the  i)eople,  and  the  saving 
strength  of  the  forlorn  hope  that  would  be  left  to  turn  back 
the  battle  at  the  gate  (xxviii.  5,  6).  But  what  a  deplor- 
able contrast  to  this  ideal  was  presented  by  the  people  of 
Jehovah,  when  their  very  prophets  and  priests  and  judges 
—  that  is,  the  great  mass  of  the  whole  official  body  to 
v.hich  a  simple,  paternally  governed,  and  theocratically 
instructed  people  looked  perpetually  for  relief  from  bur- 
dens of  civil  oppression,  or  for  redress  from  social  tyranny, 
or  for  acquittal  from  ceremonial  blame,  or  for  direction  in 
the  manifold  embarrassments  of  daily  life  —  when  even 
these  were  rendered  incapable,  by  gross  indulgence  in 
strong  drink,  of  fulfilling  the  ordinary  duties  of  their 
office. 

§  643.  There  is  evidently  here  a  worse  state  of  matters 
than  that  described  by  Tsaiah  at  the  opening  of  the  reign 
of  Ahaz  (cf.  §  323).  Social  injustice  and  class  divisions 
and  the  luxury  of  the  wealthy  had  now  borne  fruit  in  tlie 
almost  total  abandonment  of  public  riglit  and  private 
morality  (5^  592  ff.).  The  frivolity  of  an  age  of  supei*sti- 
tion  (Isa.  ii.  6)  had  now  superadded  to  it  the  reckless  impi- 
ety of  a  tin)e  when  Jehovah  was  virtually,  if  not  avowedly, 
dethroned  in  the  minds  of  the  court  and  tiie  ruling  classes, 
and  when  his  Prophet  was  openly  llouted  as  he  delivered 
his  simple  and  well-worn  message  of  the  fundamental  laws 


«  -. 


T 


S54 


DEBAUCllEKY   AM)   FRAUD 


Book  VIII 


I 


of  his  kingdom.  The  baneful  influence  of  the  Assyrian 
league,  and  its  implied  treason  to  Jehovah,  is  nowhere 
more  instructively  indicated  than  in  the  contempt  with 
which  these  brutalized  minions  of  the  vassal  king,  "the 
men  of  scorn  that  rule  this  people  which  is  in  Jerusalem  " 
(xxviii.  14),  treat  the  utterances  of  the  Prophet  of  the 
ancient  covenant.  They  mock,  in  speech  made  thick  and 
stammering  with  intoxication,  the  child-like  plainness  and 
simplicity  of  the  precepts  of  righteousness  on  which  he 
keeps  insisting  with  unwearying  iteration,  and  which  they 
deride  as  goody-goody  nursery  rhymes  (vs.  9, 10).  At  the 
same  time  they  reveal  their  own  folly  and  infatuation  by 
trusting  to  the  fancied  security  and  prestige  of  the  Assyr- 
ian alliance.  And  they  ignore  the  moral  and  political 
teaching  of  the  whole  past  history  of  Israel,  which  warns 
them  that  their  worn-out  and  harassed  country  can  have 
repose  and  recuperation  only  when  it  rests  in  Jehovah 
alone  (v.  12). 

§  644.  Micah,  whose  work  falls  mainly  within  the 
reign  of  Hezekiah  (Jer.  xxvi.  18)  utters  a  more  indignant, 
or  at  least  a  fiercer  and  more  pei'sonal,  outcry  against  the 
sins  of  the  time  and  country.  How  prevalent  and  per- 
nicious the  debaucher}'  of  the  people  had  become  is  re- 
vealed in  the  passionate  declaration  that  their  favourite 
prophet  is  one  who  utters  falsehoods,  pursues  vanity  and 
deceit,  and  prophesies  to  them  of  wine  and  strong  drink 
(ii.  11).  In  his  assaults  upon  the  necromancers  and 
diviners  (iii.  7;  v.  12)  we  may  see  a  reference  to  the 
progress  of  Babylonian  magic  under  the  auspices  of  Ahaz 
and  his  Jistrological  paraphernalia  (§  640).  His  bitterest 
plirases  are  emjiloyed  to  stigmatize  the  rapacious  nobles, 
and  especially  the  landed  gentry,  who  "pluck  the  skin" 
off  the  poor  i)easarits  and  day  labourers,  and  "strip  their 
flesh  off  their  bones"  by  their  exactions  and  unlawful 
exi)ropriiitions  (iii.  2  f. ;  ii.  2).  Such  flagrant  acts  of  vio- 
lence and  fiuud  were  not  merely  the  outcome  of  the  covet- 
ousness  and  dishonesty  rpbraided  by  Isaiah  a  few  years 


Cii.  II,  §0W     MICAII'S  OUTLOOK  AND  FOUKCAST 


255 


earlier  (Isa.  v.  7  f.)»  l>ut  are  probably  also  to  1)e  partly 
attributed  to  the  necessities  of  the  land  and  property 
owners,  who  were  responsible  (§  810)  for  the  payment  of 
the  Assyrian  imposts,  now  becoming  yearly  more  op- 
pressive. Micah  thus  supplements  Isaiah  in  showing  that 
the  country  outside  of  Jerusalem  was  being  cursed  by  the 
miseries  as  well  as  the  vices  that  were  eating  away  the 
moral  and  spiritual  life  of  the  capital.  He  shows  us  also 
what  was  the  political  outlook  of  an  intelligent  and  patri- 
otic citizen  of  the  western  or  Philistian  Iwrder  of  Judah. 
As  the  two  Prophets  thus  agree  in  their  portraiture  of 
the  civil  and  religious  condition  of  their  common  countr}-, 
they  still  more  strikingly  coincide  in  their  forecasts  of 
its  impending  fate.' 

5j  645.  To  both  Isaiah  and  Micah  it  was  a  moral  cer- 
tainty that  their  country  would  be  crushed  almost  to  de- 
struction by  the  power  of  Assyria.  At  the  i)rescnt  stage 
(just  Ixjfore  the  fall  of  Samaria)  the  dangers  that  threat- 
ened Judah  were  seen  more  vividly  and  more  in  detail  by 
Micah,  because  of  his  proximity  to  the  Philistian  plain. 
For  this  was  the  arena  of  international  strife  and  the 
marching-road  of  the  Assyrian  hosta,  a  region  also  where 
Judaite  suzerainty  had  recently  been  acknowledged  and 
was  d()ul)tless  still  upheld  (§  268).  Hence  his  grief  over 
the  anticii)ated  surrender  of  the  border  to^vns,  down  to  his 
own  little  Moresheth-Gath  (i.  10-16).  The  bitterness  of 
his  lament  is  disguised  in  any  translation  by  being  ex- 
pressed in  accordance  with  the  canons  of  Oriental  literary 
style,  which  permitted  unlimited  playing  on  words  in  the 
most  serious  passages. 

§  646.  Isaiah  in  the  [u-esent  prophecy  is  more  general 
in  his  terms,  but  very  explicit  in  his  announcement  of  the 
peril.  As  was  natural  witb.  this  master  of  political  ethics, 
the  punishment  is  made  to  lit  the  crime:  each  moral 
offence  is  to  be  visited  by  its  appropriate  retribution. 
Where  the  frivolous  debauchees  who  misruled  the  people 


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and  made  a  hideous  mockery  of  their  judicial  functions, 
caricature  the  Prophet's  message  in  the  stammering  tones 
of  babes  and  drunkards,  he  informs  them  that  they  sliall 
be  practically  taught  the  moral  validity  of  his  precepts  of 
righteousness ;  for  Jehovah  would  speak  to  them  through 
'*  the  barbarous  lips  and  strange  language  "  of  the  Assyrians 
(xxviii.  11).  When  they  reply,  in  words  put  into  their 
mouths  by  the  Prophet,  that  by  their  adroitness  and  cunning 
they  have  made  even  death  and  Sheol  their  allies,  so  that 
the  threatened  scourge  of  the  Assyrian  invasion  of  Pales- 
tine would  not  reach  to  them  (v.  15),  he  rejoins  by  assuring 
them  that  there  is  but  one  foundation  on  which  Jehovah's 
land  and  people  can  rest  and  be  secure,  "  the  stone  that  is 
laid  in  Zion,  the  tried  stone,  the  costly  corner  stone  of 
sure  foundation."  He  adds  that  as  the  righteous  Jehovah 
is  their  true  stay  and  refuge,  so  the  fortress  of  their  pres- 
ent hopes,  which  is  but  a  refuge  of  lies,  shall  be  tried  by 
the  line  of  justice  and  the  plummet  of  righteousness  (cf. 
Amos  vii.  7  ff.)  and,  when  found  false  and  unsure,  shall 
be  swept  away  by  the  hailstorm  of  judgment,  so  that  the 
waters  shall  overflow  their  hiding-place  (vs.  ItJ  f.). 

v5  G47.  Strange  as  such  a  catastrophe  may  seem,  and 
foreign  to  the  nature  of  the  God  of  Israel  in  the  popular 
conception,  it  will  still  most  certainly  be  brought  to  pass, 
and  that  by  the  predetermined  act  of  Jehovah,  whose 
fixed  purpose  it  is  to  chasten  his  whole  land  by  repeated 
inroads  of  warriors  on  the  march.  So  when  this  "over- 
whelming scourge  "  shall  come  in,  none  shall  escape  the 
terror  or  the  ruin  of  the  rushing  tide  of  invasion  (xxviii. 
18,  19,  21,  22).  In  any  case  the  present  political  and 
social  relations  are  unnatural  and  galling  —  they  are  like 
a  couch  too  sliort  for  rest,  with  a  covering  too  scanty  for 
shelter  (v.  20).  The  God  of  Isrjiel  is  a  God  of  order,  and 
the  laws  that  regulate  his  earthly  kingdom  are  as  rational 
and  at  the  same  time  as  imperative  as  those  which  divinely 
guide  the  familiar  operations  of  liusbandry.  To  those  laws 
his  people  and  all  peoples  are  amenable  (vs.  23-29). 


Ch.  II,  §  648 


IMrKNDING   RUPTUKE 


257 


55  648.  At  the  date  of  tlie  utterance  of  these  drastic 
projihecies  there  was  manifestly  as  yet  no  break  with  the 
Assyrian  suzerain.  Even  of  negotiation  with  Kgypt  on 
the  part  of  Judah  tliere  is  as  yet  no  sign.  A  reference  to 
it  is  commonly  tijp[»ose(l  to  be  made  in  Isa.  xxviii.  1"),  18 
(the  "covenant  with  death  and  agreement  with  Sheol"). 
But  the  language  employed  then  is  of  an  entirely  general 
character,  and  relates  to  the  notorious  disregard  of  truth 
and  honour  on  the  part  of  the  rulers  and  judges,  and  their 
defiance  of  the  judgments  so  frequently  threatened  by  the 
Prophets.  If  Ahaz  was  still  on  the  throne  at  that  date,  as 
we  suppose  ( §  6:55  ff.)  there  was  no  likelihood  of  any  rupt- 
ure of  the  Assyrian  league,  galling  as  its  exactions  were 
doubtless  l^ecoming.  The  "slave  and  the  son"  of  his 
Assyrian  deliverer,  and  the  servile  imitator  of  Eastern  cus- 
toms in  civil  and  religious  life,  was  extremely  unlikely  to 
encourage  or  tolerate  disloyalty.  But  very  soon  after  the 
downfall  of  Samaria,  and  almost  coincidently,  as  it  would 
seem,  with  the  chastisement  inflicted  on  the  same  city  in 
its  league  with  Ilamath  and  Gaza  and  Sib'e  of  Egypt,  a 
new  r<;gime  began  in  Judah,  which  was  religiously  and 
politically  opposed  to  the  Ninevite  domination.  It  intro- 
duced at  the  same  time  the  most  important  epoch  in  the 
history  of  the  Southern  Kingdom,  the  era  of  Hezekiah. 


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CHAPTER   III 

THE  NEW   POLICY   UNDEP    HEZEKIAH 

§  649.  Hezekiab  ("  My  strength  is  Yahwe,"  719-690) 
was  the  pon  of  Ahaz,  and  the  pupil,  though  not  always  the 
obedient  disciple,  of  Isaiah.  That  he  differed  so  much  in 
temper  and  spirit  from  his  father  was  largely  due,  without 
doubt,  to  the  training  of  the  great  statesman-prophet, 
through  which  his  natural  piety  and  ideality  were  fostered, 
and  a  sentiment  of  devotion  to  Jehovah  and  true  patriotism 
sedulously  encouraged.  He,  at  the  same  time,  was  of  a 
somewhat  weak,  or,  at  least,  pliant  disposition,  and  more 
capable  of  lofty  resolves  than  of  heroic  endeavour  and 
steadfast  endurance.  The  brilliant  hopes  which  Isaiah 
had  conceived  of  his  youth  were  destined  to  grave  abate- 
ment as  the  years  went  on,  especially  in  the  line  of  politi- 
cal action ;  and  this  is  to  be  accounted  for  partly  by  his 
temper  and  habits  and  partly  by  the  influence  of  faction. 
The  events  of  his  reign  before  701  cannot  be  clearly  traced, 
as  the  Biblical  narrative  is  very  meagre,  and  we  are  com- 
pelled  to  rely  almost  exclusively  upon  contemporary  proph- 
ecies mostly  undated,  with  the  Assyrian  notices  of  the 
period  as  a  sort  of  historical  and  chronological  frame- 
work. 

§  650.  The  accession  of  Hezekiah,  who  must  have 
begun  his  reign  while  still  a  mere  youth  (§  638),  did  not 
at  first  make  any  material  change  in  the  attitude  of  the 
nation  towards  the  Assyrian  over-lord.  But  the  fateful 
crisis  was  not  long  in  coming.     We  can  distinguish  four 

periods  or  stages  in   Judah's  relations  with  Assyria  in 

258 


Cii.  Ill,  §  652 


RELATIONS   WITH  ASSYRIA 


2S9 


Hezekiah's  time :    quiescence,  intrigue,  open  disaffection, 
armed  rebellion.     Each  of  these  stages  requires  illustration. 

§  651.  The  influence  of  the  counsellors  of  Ahaz,  which 
it  was  impossible  to  shake  off  at  once,  together  with  the 
recollection  of  the  deliverance  afforded  by  Assyria,  secured 
for  a  time  the  maintenance  of  the  status  quo  ante.  But  the 
counter-influences  were  strong,  and  their  ultimate  preva- 
lence inevitable.  The  first  great  motive  was  the  still 
unquenched  national  sentiment  and  the  desire  for  inde- 
pendence. The  re-establishment  of  good  government  was 
of  itself  sufficient  to  raise  the  spirit  of  the  people,  and  this 
was  speedily  secured  under  the  kindly  auspices  of  the  new 
regime.  The  reform  in  religion,  begun  immediately  upon 
the  accession  of  Hezekiah  (2  Chr.  xxix.  3  ff.),  and  carried 
out  later  more  effectually  under  more  favourable  condi- 
tions, must  of  itself  have  for  a  time  sobered  and  steadied 
the  administration  of  justice.  And  the  energetic  measures 
adopted  for  putting  the  land  in  a  state  of  defence,  and 
renewing  its  hold  upon  the  Philistian  possessions  (2  K. 
xviii.  8).  must  have  renewed  the  patriotic  spirit.  So  again 
the  revival  of  industrial  pursuits  and  public  works,  after 
the  fashion  of  the  times  of  Uzziah  (2  Chr.  xxxii.  27  ff.), 
tended  to  put  heart  into  the  people  once  more,  humbled  as 
they  had  been  by  vassalage,  and  impoverished  by  the  drain 
of  tribute-giving. 

§  652.  We  must  also  take  account  of  the  influence  of 
the  environment.  Judah  was  but  one  of  several  small 
states  in  Palestine,  and  though  favoured,  or  rather  little 
injured  by  Assyria,  it  still  had  finally  to  cast  in  its  lot  with 
its  neighbours  and  share  the  good  or  bad  fortune  of  the 
harassed  West-land.  Among  these  communities  sedition 
was  rife,  and  intrigue  with  Assyria's  chief  rival  kept  up 
without  intermission.  Tliere  must  have  been,  from  the 
later  years  of  Ahaz  onward,  an  Egyptian  party  in  Jeru- 
salem, or  at  least  some  politicians  who  urged  the  advan- 
tages of  an  alliance  on  equal  terms  with  a  nation  held  to 
be  as  powerful  as  Assyria  and  more  tolerant.     This  party 


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260 


JUDAII  AND  ASIIDOD 


Book  VIII 


soon  became  prominent  under  Hezekiah,  and  proved  a 
veritable  thorn  in  the  side  of  Isaiah,  and  the  chief  object 
of  his  rebuke  and  opposition.  Under  the  combined  opera- 
tion of  these  various  influences,  the  period  of  quiescence 
passed  gradually  into  that  of  intrigue. 

§  653.  That  Judah  took  no  part  in  the  affairs  of  720 
and  715  is  certain.  But  it  is  very  probable  that  in  the 
latter  year  (§  630)  its  allegiance  to  Assyria,  which  had 
been  renewed  in  7'20  (§  02-1),  even  if  not  regarded  by 
Sargon  as  open  to  question,  was  somewhat  precarious.  Of 
overt  opposition,  or  even  withholding  of  tribute,  there 
can  have  been  none,  else  its  consequences  would  have 
been  mentioned  in  the  full  reports  of  Sargon.  It  is  to  be 
noted,  moreover,  that  the  whole  country  north,  west,  and 
south  of  Judah  was  in  that  busy  year  more  firmly  bound 
to  Assyria.  Egypt  was  cut  off  from  the  commerce  of 
Arabia  and  the  use  of  the  latter  territory  as  a  basis  of 
action  in  Asia.  She  found  it  even  expedient  to  propitiate 
Sargon  by  gifts.  Samaria  was  more  thoroughly  dena- 
tionalized and  secured  against  further  revolt  by  the  im- 
portation of  Arabian  captives.  Finally,  the  restless  Philis- 
tines found  no  opportunity  of  provoking  an  invasion.  But 
the  withdrawal  of  the  troops  of  occupation  through  the  ne- 
cessities of  the  northern  and  eastern  campaigns  of  Sargon 
was  soon  followed  by  a  characteristically  volcanic  out- 
break among  the  overstrained  western  nationalities,  and 
four  3'ears  later  (§  631  f.)  a  small  special  force  had  to  be 
despatched  to  the  coast  to  quell  the  disturbance  at  Ashdod. 

§  654.  The  comments  of  Isaiah  upon  this  apparently 
trifling  event  reveal  to  us,  by  virtue  of  the  illuminating 
function  of  Prophecy,  the  historical  situation  in  Judah. 
They  indicate  clearly  the  headlong  drift  of  sentiment 
towards  an  Egyjitian  alliance  and  the  popular  desire  to 
escape  at  all  hazards  from  the  Assyrian  incubus.  The  year 
711  consequently  finds  Jerusalem  on  the  eve  of  a  surrender 
to  Egyptian  influence,  or  at  least  in  the  midst  of  compro- 
mising negotiations  with  the  head  of  the  Ethiopian  dynasty. 


- 


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Cii.  Ill,  §  C55 


ISAIAH   ON  THE   CRISIS 


2C1 


As  yet  we  do  not  see  any  sign  of  open  revolt.  Saigon, 
however,  in  his  record  of  the  same  event  (§  632),  accuses 
the  Judaites,  as  does  his  great  contemporary  among  them- 
selves, of  plotting  with  Egypt.  The  situation  was  thus 
continually  becoming  graver.  The  additional  indemnity, 
or  increase  of  tribute,  which  was  undoubtedly  enforced 
by  Sargon  as  the  penalty  of  disaffection  (§  633),  made  the 
Assyrian  vassalage  all  the  harder  to  bear,  and  hastened  the 
inevitable  revolt  at  the  favourable  moment. 

§  655.  A  considerable  section  of  the  book  of  Isaiah 
(ch.  xviii.-xx.)  has  to  do  with  this  period  of  intrigue  and 
disaffection,  of  which  711  is  the  critical  year.  The  motive 
of  these  sections  is  the  danger  and  wrong  of  Judah's 
alliance  with  Egypt.  But  their  contents  range  widely, 
after  the  fashion  of  this  imperial  type  of  prophecy,  among 
international  issues  and  the  interests  of  Jehovah's  kingdom 
upon  earth.  Chapter  xviii.  is  the  earliest  and  therefore  the 
most  dispassionate.  The  Ethiopian  monarchy  in  the  land 
of  the  Pharaohs  appears  not  so  much  an  aggressor  and 
intermeddler  as  an  aspiring  rival  of  Assyria.  The  revival 
of  the  old  national  spirit,  with  its  ambitious  aims  of  Asiatic 
dominion,  prompts  a  divine  oracle,  which  goes  far  beyond 
the  designs  or  expected  achievements  of  the  new  rulers  of 
Egypt.  An  embassy,  sent  from  the  Ethiopian  home-land, 
far  up  the  Nile,  to  the  states  of  Western  Asia,  has  ariived 
at  or  near  Jerusalem.  Its  purpose  is  to  alarm  the  nations 
with  the  prospective  terrors  of  Assyrian  supremacy,  and  to 
secure  their  adhesion  to  a  combination  that  will  (hive  the 
eastern  aggressors  back  across  the  Euphrates  (xviii.  1,  2). 
Isaiah  is  commissioned  to  declare  that  the  work  of  repelling 
the  Assyrians  is  not  assigned  to  the  present  or  any  dynasty 
of  rulers  in  Egypt  or  Palestine,  but  is  reserved  to  Jehovah 
himself.  He  watches  from  his  throne  in  the  heavens  the 
movements  and  plottings  of  men  and  nations,  and  after 
his  purposes  have  been  subserved  with  Assyria,  he  will 
obliterate  her  suddenly  and  utterly  (xviii.  3-6).  The 
picturesque  and  dramatic  imagery  of  the  prophecy  is  the 


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262 


EGYPT  AND   ASSYRIA 


Book  VIII 


vehicle  of  a  message  as  profound  and  luminous  as  it  is 
sublime.  The  matter  in  hand  is  taken  at  once  out  of  the 
sphere  of  human  politics  and  lifted  into  the  realm  of  divine 
providence.  The  convulsions  and  revolutions  of  the  whole 
following  century,  with  the  humiliation  of  Egypt  and  Syria, 
and  the  triumphs  of  Assyria,  are  all  overseen.  Yet  they 
are  unnoticed,  except  for  their  issue  in  the  catastrophe 
that  is  to  end  the  present  drama,  the  ruin  and  desolation 
of  Assyria  itself.  Egypt  is  nothing,  Assyria  is  nothing, 
Judah  itself  is  nothing,  save  for  the  truth  and  righteous- 
ness of  Jehovah. 

§  656.  Chapter  xix.  goes  a  step  farther.  In  the  pre- 
ceding prophecy  the  work  and  fate  of  Egypt  are  simply 
ignored,  in  view  of  the  grand  finale.  Here  they  form  the 
chief  subject.  While  throughout  the  Prophet's  ministry 
Egypt  was  known  as  an  intermeddler  in  Asia,  a  very  demon 
of  international  strife,  singularly  enough  this,  her  normal 
function,  is  unmentioned  here.  Her  own  misfortunes  and 
misery  excite  interest  by  themselves  alone.  Yet  the  wider 
relation  is  not  forgotten,  rather  it  forms  the  unrecorded 
motive  of  the  utterance.  The  futility  and  wrong  of  the 
Egyptian  alliance  were  the  chief  burden  upon  the  heart 
of  the  statesman  Isaiah.  In  no  one  of  his  leading  speeches, 
from  the  time  of  Ahaz  onward,  does  it  fail  to  appear.  So 
here,  in  her  evil  influence,  Egypt  is  regarded  as  the  foe 
of  the  Holy  People.  The  issue  for  which  the  prophet 
stands  is  thus  a  struggle  between  the  true  God  and  the 
"  no-gods  "  of  Egypt.  In  Chapter  xviii.  4  Jehovah  repre- 
sents himself  as  sitting,  unmoved  and  serene  in  his  heav- 
enly mansion,  biding  the  ripening  fate  of  Assyria.  Here, 
in  one  of  the  episodes  of  the  great  action.  He  is  presented 
as  riding  upon  the  swift-flying  cloud,  and  descending  upon 
Egypt,  while  the  no-gods  shiver  before  him  in  terror,  and 
the  hearts  of  the  people  melt  for  fear  (v.  1).  The  main 
instrument  used  for  the  punishment  of  Egypt  is  her  fierce 
and  cruel  rival  Assyria,  the  same  rod  that  was  wielded  in 
Jehovah's  hand  against  her  would-be  ally  Judah  (v.  4). 


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Cn.  Ill,  §  657     RUIN  AND  REDEMPTION  OF  EGYPT 


2G3 


But  the  conquest  of  the  foreigner  was  to  be  facilitated  by 
the  anarchy  and  strife  which  should  continue  to  vex  Egypt, 
one  petty  kingdom  or  "  nome  "  being  incited  against  the 
other,  so  that  all  national  spirit  would  be  lost  (vs.  2,  3). 
Then  her  productiveness  of  soil  should  fail,  and  her  indus- 
tries languish,  through  the  neglect  of  the  water-ways  of 
commerce  and  irrigation,  and  of  the  fisheries,  and  the 
undermining  and  breaking-up  of  the  pillars  of  government 
(vs.  5-10).  Dismay  should  seize  upon  the  counsellors  and 
sages  of  Egypt,  renowned  as  they  were  for  their  wisdom 
and  resource.  The  princes  of  Zoan  and  Memphis,  the 
bulwarks  of  the  ancient  empire,  should,  by  foolish  advent- 
ures, lead  their  people  to  ruin.  Social  order  should  be 
subverted  ;  and  in  the  desperation  and  bewilderment  of  all 
classes  of  the  state,  the  whole  body  politic  should,  like  one 
intoxicated,  reel  to  its  destruction  (vs.  11-15 ;  see  §  768). 
§  657.  But  now,  with  a  mighty  bound  of  his  eager 
imagination,  the  Prophet  overleaps  the  time  of  confusion 
and  misery,  and  from  his  favourite  Messianic  standpoint 
beholds  the  whole  arena  of  the  contending  empires  finally 
united  in  the  acknowledgment  and  worship  of  Jehovah 
(vs.  16-25).  Egypt  itself,  at  first  terrified  and  unmanned 
by  the  very  mention  of  the  God  of  Judah,  because  of  his 
inexorable  purpose  to  smite  and  destroy,  shall  be  brought 
to  own,  not  only  his  sovereignty,  but  his  grace  (vs.  16, 
17).  The  five  most  renowned  sacred  cities,  the  seats  of 
the  ancient  religion,  with  Heliopolis  at  their  head,  shall 
"speak  the  language  of  Canaan  ^  and  swear  allegiance  to 
Jehovah  of  Hosts"  (v.  18).  Even  the  forms  of  Jehovali's 
worship  shall  be  introduced  —  altar  and  pillar,  sacrifice  and 
offering.  In  answer  to  their  prayers  a  deliverer  shall  be 
sent  to  the  Egyptians,  and  they  shall  be  healed  of  the 
wounds  of  Jehovah's  own  smiting  (vs.  19-22).  To  crown 
all,  Israel,  as  the  centre  of  the  wliole  regenerated  region, 

1  Notice  the  selection  of  what  is  at  once  the  most  effective  instrument 
and  the  surest  evidence  of  an  assimihition  of  adjacent  peoples  —  the  use 
of  a  common  language. 


(. 


1     ■ ' 


♦i 


i^' 


m 


'.M 


''  i, 


ii 


ii 

vl!i» 


'II  • 


"■',  i 


1' 


1 1 


\ 

l1 1 

■ 

•1 

i 

1 

264 


A  SYMBOLIC   PANTOMIME 


Book  VIII 


fl 


shall  minister  mediatorial  blessings  to  the  reconciled  rivals 
on  either  side.  "  Israel  shall  be  one  of  three  with  Egypt 
and  Assyria,  a  blessing  in  the  midst  of  the  earth."  And 
Palestine,  the  marching-road  of  their  contending  armies, 
shall  become  a  highway  of  peaceful  intercourse  between 
Eg\-pt  and  Assyria,  and  a  common  ground  on  which  they 
shall  meet  to  worship  the  God  of  Israel  (vs.  23-25). 

§  658.  These  flights  of  prophetic  prevision,  so  wide  in 
their  range  and  so  indefinite  in  the  historic  conditions, 
both  of  their  occasion  and  of  their  fulfilment,  have  as  their 
practical  counterfoil  a  very  specific  prophetic  act  in  the 
following  chapter.  Egypt  was  not  simply  one  of  the  actors 
in  a  great  political  drama,  one  of  the  factors  in  the  scheme 
of  divine  providence,  and  a  predestined  member  of  the 
earthly  kingdom  of  Jehovah.  She  was  a  dangerous  and 
persistent  power  that  needed  to  be  reckoned  with  sharply 
and  resolutely  at  the  present  juncture.  The  crisis  of 
Egyptian  influence  was  reached  for  Judah,  as  all  our 
information  shows  us,  at  the  time  of  the  revolt  of  Ashdod 
(§  653  f.).  General  warnings  against  trusting  to  Egypt  had 
not  availed  to  loosen  the  hold  of  her  diplomacy  or  to  dis- 
solve the  spell  of  her  ancient  prestige  upon  the  susceptible 
minds  of  the  hard-pressed  Judaites.  Clubs  and  cliques  of 
Egyptian  partisans  were  finding  leaders,  and  Isaiah  was 
meeting  rivals  to  his  influence  over  Hezekiah  in  the  king's 
chief  ministers.  Judah  now  plots  with  other  states  of  Pales- 
tine and  with  Egypt  against  Assyria,  and  is  about  to  sup- 
port Ashdod  in  the  concerted  revolt.  If  words  have  no 
avail  to  check  the  infatuation  of  the  revolutionary  party, 
it  would  be  seen  what  effect  can  be  exercised  by  a  solemn 
outward  symbolizing  of  the  results  of  an  Egyptian  alli- 
ance. The  Prophet  is  bidden,  like  a  captive,  to  ungirdle 
his  flowing  outer  robe  and  draw  off  his  sandals,  and  thus 
stripped  and  barefooted  to  walk  about  in  the  public  view 
three  years  "as  a  sign  and  a  portent  against  Egypt  and 
against  Ethiopia:  thus  shall  the  king  of  Assyria  lead  away 
ihe  captives  of  Egypt  and  the  exiles  of  Ethiopia,  young 


a   i 


s 

10 


Cii.  Ill,  §  «o9 


EFFECT   OF  THE   LESSON 


265 


men  and  old  men,  stripped  and  barefoot"  (xx.  1-4). 
"  And  they  shall  be  dismayed  and  ashamed  at  Ethiopia 
their  reliance,  and  at  Egypt  with  her  glamour  over  them. 
And  the  dwellers  in  these  ruins  shall  say  in  that  day: 
behold  such  is  our  reliance  to  which  we  fled  for  help  that 
we  might  be  rescued  from  the  king  of  Assyria ;  and  how 
shall  we  be  saved?"  (vs.  5,  (j). 

§  659.  This  speaking  symbolism  was  brought  into  play 
upon  the  imagination  of  the  men  of  Judah  for  three  years, 
beginning  early  in  711.  Did  it  have  any  effect?  Un- 
doubtedly. It  is  very  probable  that  it  was  to  Isaiah's 
influence  that  Judah  owed  its  escape  from  the  folly  of 
openly  joining  with  the  revolters  at  Ashdod,  and  its  con- 
sequent immunity  from  annexation  and  devastation.  Pos- 
sibly, also,  it  was  due  to  him  that  at  least  outward  quiet- 
ness prevailed  in  Palestine  till  the  end  of  the  reign  of 
Sargon.  The  importance  of  his  action  may  be  inferred 
from  the  particularizing  of  time  and  circumstances :  and 
we  may  w^ell  believe  that  the  wearing  of  a  captive's  attire 
for  three  years  by  an  aristocrat  and  patriot  like  Isaiali.  was 
the  last  resort  of  appeal,  remonstrance,  and  warning.  And 
yet  the  consequences,  however  salutary  for  the  time,  were 
not  permanent.  We  are  devoid  of  historical  notices  from 
any  source  for  the  affairs  of  Judah  for  the  next  four  or 
five  years.  But  with  the  death  of  Sargon  and  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  reign,  we  find  the  old  conditions  restored, 
and  everything  ready  for  a  revolt  in  the  West  to  be  sup- 
ported by  Egypt. 


Im 

f]V   *1 

i'  * 

] 

[■■-.' 

i      '  ! 


ii'll 


II 


I    ■. 


!U 


I 


CHAPTER  IV 


SARGON  AND  MERODACH-BALADAN 


§  660.  Meanwhile,  Sargon  was  busily  occupied  in  the 
East.  My  readers  will  recall  his  earlier  campaign  which 
followed  the  accession  or  usurpation  of  Merodach-baladan 
in  Babylon,  and  resulted  in  the  evacuation  of  the  country 
by  the  Assyrians  (§  621  ff.).  For  nearly  twelve  years 
(721-710)  the  Chaldaean  maintained  himself  in  the  ancient 
capital,  secure  in  alliance  with  the  Elamites  and  in  the 
friendship  or  fealty  of  the  intervening  Aramtean  tribes. 
Yet  he  failed  to  secure  what  he  had  gained.  The  old 
established  classes  he  never  succeeded  in  conciliating, 
perhaps  because  he  found  it  impossible  to  satisfy  the 
multitude  of  hungry  adventurers  from  the  sea-land  with- 
out large  levies  upon  the  property-holders,  whom,  in  some 
cases,  he  actually  expropriated.  Moreover,  the  priestly 
families,  who  for  a  time  favoured  Assyrian  protection  as 
against  the  Chaldajan  barbarians,  continued  to  hold  them- 
selves aloof  from  him,  in  readiness  to  welcome  the  advent 
of  Sargon,  as  they  had  formerly  greeted  the  victorious 
Tiglathpileser  (§  339). 

§  661.  The  conduct  of  this,  the  most  decisive  and 
important  of  the  wars  of  Sargon,  indicates  the  progress 
he  had  made  during  eleven  years  in  military  skill  and 
resource.  In  721  the  same  foe  was  not  nearly  so  strong 
or  so  well  entrenched  as  he  came  to  be  after  j'ears  of 
self-aggrandizement  in  Babylon,  and  yet  Sargon  then 
found  it  prudent  to  retire  from  the  field  after  a  short 
campaign.     The  Chaldaean,  however,  was  now  deprived  of 

266 


if 

rt 


Ch.  IV,  §6ti2         CHALD.KANS   AND    AUAM.KANS 


2ti7 


one  very  great  advantuge  which  lie  formerly  possessed  — 
the  active  and  prompt  assistance  of  the  Elamites,  which 
was  perhaps  restrained  by  the  superior  force  of  the  Assyr- 
ians. Sargon's  plan  of  campaign  is  here  more  easily  fol- 
lowed, on  the  whole,  than  in  most  other  Assyrian  wars. 
It  embraced  two  main  movements.  Babylon  itself  waa 
not  directly  approached.  The  main  endeavour  was  on 
the  one  hand  to  crush  the  immediate  source  of  the  enemy's 
strength,  namely  the  Chakhean  forces  and  the  Arama^m 
auxiliaries,  and  on  the  other  to  render  impossible  the 
interference  of  the  Elamites.  Now,  inasmuch  as  the 
most  important  Aramjean  allies  of  IVIerodach-baladan  had 
their  camping-grounds  along  the  Tigris  directly  between 
Babylonia  and  Elam,  the  occupation  of  their  territory 
would  at  the  same  time  erect  a  barrier  against  the 
Elamites.  It  was  here,  then,  that  the  lirst  blow  was 
struck.  The  Gambulians  between  the  Tigris  and  the 
lower  reaches  of  the  river  Uknu  (the  modern  Kercha), 
who  had  entrenched  themselves  in  a  strong  fortress,  were 
overwhelmed,  and  a  great  multitude  of  them  taken  pris- 
oners. The  other  Araniiean  tribes  fled  eastward  over  the 
Uknu  and  took  refuge  in  Elamitic  territory.  Their 
domains  were  made  a  new  Assyrian  province,  some  border 
towns  in  Elam  itself  were  also  taken,  and  the  king  of 
Elam  in  terror  fled  to  his  native  mountains. 

§  662.  Meanwhile  another  force  of  Assyrians,  with 
Sargon  himself  at  their  head,  marched  against  the  Chal- 
dtean  tribes.  Bit-dakkuri,  not  far  to  the  southeast  of 
Babylon  itself,  was  made  the  base  of  operations.  The 
intervening  country  submitted  to  Sargon,  and  Merodach- 
baladan,  dreading  a  revolt  in  Babylon  on  the  part  of 
the  leading  citizens,  resolved  to  escape  from  the  twofold 
threatening  danger.  Jlis  first  reliance  was  the  king  of 
Elam.  If  a  junction  could  be  effected  with  his  people, 
the  allies  might  make  head  against  the  Assyrians,  as  tiiey 
had  done  in  the  campaign  that  secured  his  sovereignty 
over  Babylonia.     But  the  times,  as  well  as  the  men,  had 


li  'hi 


I  • 


M 


■  \i  I. 


1.1   H: 


i  ^' i:  . 


I 

m 


ii: 


268 


ASSYRIANS   IN   BABYLON 


Book  VIII 


changed.  Above  all,  the  new  king  of  Elam  was  no 
fighter,  especially  against  odds.  Besides,  he  was  already 
a  fugitive  in  the  mountains.  The  Chaldsean  leader  be- 
took himself  to  the  Aramnean  territory  of  Yatbur,  east 
of  the  Tigris  and  north  of  the  tribes  already  annexed  to 
Assyria.  Thence  he  sent  to  the  Elamitic  king.  The 
mission  was  fruitless,  and  the  helpless  Merodach-baladan, 
seeing  all  hope  cut  off,  was  obliged  to  march  southward 
to  his  hereditary  domain  with  his  small  band  of  faithful 
ChahUeans. 

§  663.  The  fugitive  king  of  Babylon  was  now  reckoned 
as  a  usurper,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  city,  who  seemed 
somewhat  weary  of  Chakhean  domination,  invited  to  their 
midst  by  a  solemn  deputation  and  gladly  welcomed  the 
great  conqueror,  who  vowed  to  protect  their  estates  from 
spoliation  and  their  temples  from  desecration.  The  pious 
sacrifices  were  duly  performed  by  the  devout  champion 
of  the  ancient  cults  and  the  guardian  of  their  immemorial 
shrines.  By  further  restoring  neglected  and  decayed 
public  works,  especially  the  canal  which  united  Boi-sippa 
and  Babylon,^  and  by  clearing  the  neighbourhood  of  preda- 
tory tribes  whom  the  Chaldsean  regime  had  tolerated  and 
perhaps  encouraged,  he  completely  won  over  the  hearts  of 
the  Babylonians.  On  the  next  New  Year's  day,  the  first  of 
Nisan,  he  "clasped  the  hands  of  Bel  and  Nebo"  (cf.  §  341). 

§  664.  Sargon  would  thus  seem  to  have  reached  the 
goal  of  his  ambition  and  the  summit  of  his  hopes.  But 
Merodach-baladan  was  still  alive  and  in  armed  possession 
of  his  native  domains.  The  capital,  Diir-Yakin,  he  was 
able  to  fortify  during  the  winter  months,  while  Sargon 
was  occupied  in  Babylon.  There  also  he  placed  a  garri- 
son drawn  from  Ur,  Erech,  and  other  South  Babylonian 
cities.  His  fortifications  he  made  exceedingly  strong,  and 
he  availed  himself  especially  of  that  well-tried  resource,  — 
the  readiest  and  surest  to  beleaguered  Chaldaeans,  —  the 
digging  of  moats  and  canals  around  the  fortress.     But  all 


1  See  Par.,  p.  192. 


cn.  IV,  I  mo 


CHANGKS    IN    I5AIJVL()N1A 


369 


was  of  no  avail  against  the  ovevwhelmiiig  forces  of  Sargon, 
who  succeeded  in  crossing  tlie  canals,  (kd'eatetl  the  Clial- 
da-aii  troops  under  the  walls,  and  in  a  short  time  tiiereat'ter 
gained  possessio''  C)f  the  city  itself.  Merodach-baladan  con- 
trived to  escape  to  thi*  inaccessible  marshes  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Rivers.     (710  n.c.) 

§  065.  Sargon  had  now  unlimited  op[)ortunity  to  play 
on  a  grand  scale  the  role  of  the  pious  rextuHrator  and  the 
benefactor  of  all  his  subjects,  new  and  old.  That  the 
(.'haltla-an  was  a  des[)oiler  may  be  taken  for  granted,  and 
the  claim  of  Sargon  that  he  restored  to  the  people  of 
Babvlonia  the  lands  which   Merodach-baladan  had  conHs- 


cated  and  given  to  his  Ijarbarian  allies  is  doubtless  true 
enough.  Hut  to  give  implicit  credence  to  his  claim  that 
he  everywhere  restored  the  worship  of  their  own  gods  to 
the  cities  and  temples  that  had  been  occupied  and  dese- 
crated by  the  "  usur[ier,"  is  to  yield  too  much.  The  very 
iiames  of  the  Chakhean  rulers  attest  their  own  ancestral 
worship  of  Nebo  and  Merodach ;  and  it  is  easier  to  believe 
that  Merodach-baladan  was  an  adventurer  and  a  semi-barba- 
rian, than  that  he  was  a  i)ersecutor  or  iconoclast.^  Every 
defeated  or  dethroned  monarch  was  among  the  ancient  Sem- 
ites a  despiser  of  the  gods  and  a  subverter  of  their  worsiiip ; 
and  the  successful  lival  knew  well  liow,  by  liberal  donations 
and  zeal  in  building  and  decorating,  to  utilize  the  presumed 
favour  of  his  celestial  patrons.  The  bulletins  issued  by 
Merodach-baladan  seven  years  later,  when  he  again  as- 
sumed the  throne  of  Babylon,  doubtless  presented  tlie 
devout  Sargon  in  ari  ecjually  unfavourable  light. 

§  666.  The  work  of  compiest  was  completed  by  an  act 
which  patriotic  Babylonians  should  have  resented  fully  as 
much  as  their  former  subjection  to  their  Chakhean  kindred. 
Cappadocians  were  now  placed  in  Bit-Yakln  and  the  sur- 
rounding country,  whose  inhabitants  were  in  their  turn 
deported  to  the  forfeited  homes  of  the  new  settlers.  ?2ast- 
ern  Cappadocia  ( Kummuch)  had  been  stirred  U[)  by  the 

Uiis  iuscriptiuu  of  714  b.c.  (see  KB.  Ill,  1,  184  ff.)  is  quite  orthodox. 


i 


'.:/, 


il^^^ 


IM 


\t 


I 


i   "I ;"i 


!l 


270 


LAST  ACHIEVEMENTS   OF   SARGON        Book  VIII 


Ni 


Armenians  to  revolt,  but  was  overrun  and  finally  converted 
into  aix  Assyrian  province  about  the  time  of  the  close  of 
the  Chaldoean  war.  The  Moschaians  (Muske),  who  had 
not  come  into  direct  conflict  with  Assyria  since  the  days 
of  Tiglathpileser  I  (§  179),  but  who  had  been  now  for 
years  in  active  opposition  (§  627  ff.),  were  also  subdued 
and  wasted  by  the  governor  of  Cilicia  (Kue).  An  embassy 
bearing  propitiatory  gifts  from  this  people  on  the  north 
of  the  Taurus  greeted  Sargon  upon  the  frontiers  of  Media. 
There  also  ambassadors  were  received  from  cities  in  distant 
Cyprus  (^where  there  has  been  found  a  monolith  of  Sargon 
with  an  inscription,  now  in  the  Berlin  Museum),  and  from 
the  island  Dilmun  in  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  other  and 
later  military  undertakings  of  Sargon  and  his  generals  are 
of  a  local  character  and  of  subordinate  importance.  He 
liad  now  reached  the  jjoal  which  he  had  set  to  himself  at 
the  beginning  of  his  career.  The  old  boundaries  of  the 
empire  were  maintained  or  enlarged.  Babylonia,  Syria, 
and  the  northern  regions  from  east  to  west  were  made 
secure.  Egypt  and  Elam,  on  the  extreme  limits  of  his 
possessions,  were  rendered  harmless  as  rivals  or  enemies. 
Never  before  in  the  history  of  his  race,  had  conquest 
been  made  so  sure  and  effective,  or  afforded  such  promise 
of  permanence. 

§  667.  Sargon  could  now  devote  liimself  without  fear 
of  serious  interruption  to  the  perpetuation  of  his  fame  by 
arts  of  peace.  The  greatest  of  his  works  was  the  founding 
of  the  city  of  Diir-Sarriikin  (the  modern  Khorsabad)  a  few 
miles  north  of  Nineveh,  whose  name  was  given  to  it  in  imi- 
tation of  the  city  of  Sargon  I,  situated  in  the  same  position 
relatively  to  Babylon,  He  had  previously  made,  like  his 
predecessors,  his  residence  at  Kalach  (Nimi  ud)  where  he 
had  rebuilt  the  northwest  palace  of  Asshm-nfisirpal.  In 
the  new  citv  he  erected  a  mairnificent  i)alace  Avhich  has 
remained,  since  its  excavation  and  exploration  by  Botta 
(1843-4)  and  Place  (1852),  the  most  complete  representa- 
tion of  Assyrian  architecture  which  has  been  preserved  to  us. 


Ch.  IV,  §  668  ACCESSION  OF  SINACHERIB 


271 


s  668. 


S  ooo.  This  appropriate  home  for  the  most  powerful 
ruler  and  greatest  benefactor  whom  Assyria  had  yet  known 
was  not  long  tenanted  by  a  royal  occupant.  The  inscrip- 
tions with  which  its  halls  were  profusely  sculptured  were 
destined  to  niform  posterity,  rather  than  to  remind  their 
hero,  of  his  achievements  and  virtues  (cf.  §  359).  It  was 
duly  occupied  in  706,  and  in  the  summer  of  the  next  year 
Sargon  died  by  the  liand  of  an  assassin. 


,!■     '} 


,  ? 


11 

■      .    -I 


■.  J 


•    1 


™lfp¥ 


!..' 


,,' 


■   n, 


m 


CHAPTER   V 


SINACHERIB   AND   MERODACH-BALADAN 

§  669.  The  assassin  of  Sargon  seems  to  have  been  a 
common  soldier,  and  this  fact  would  suggest  that  lie  was 
the  instrument  of  a  more  powerful  intriguer.  Wlien  we 
add  to  this  the  circumstance  that  his  son  and  successor 
never  mentions  his  name  in  his  numerous  inscriptions, 
there  is  possibly  ground  for  the  conjecture  that  he  was  the 
victim  of  an  uprising  instigated  bv  the  latter.  On  what 
ground  any  lival  of  Sargon  could  appeal  to  popular  prej- 
udice it  is  difficult  to  see,  since  he  was  undoubtedly  one 
of  the  most  beneficent  of  rulers  to  his  immediate  subjects. 
Possibly  the  conspiracy  was  confined  to  the  new  city  of 
Sargon  which  he  had  populated,  in  what  seems  to  us  as  a 
very  impolitic  fashion,  with  prisoners  taken  in  "  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world."  It  was  on  the  twelfth  of  Ab 
(July-August),  that  Sinacherib  ("Sin  has  increased  the 
brothers,"  705-681)  ascended  the  throne.  Sinacherib  is 
the  best  known  to  moderns  of  all  the  kings  of  Assyria  on 
account  of  his  prominence  in  Iiil)lical  liistory.  His  tradi- 
tional reputation,  based  on  the  Scripture  story,  is  amply 
sustained  by  his  own  self-betraying  inscriptions.  He  was 
boastful,  arrogant,  cruel,  and  revengeful  to  a  degree  un- 
common even  in  Assyrian  kings. 

§  670.  Perhaps  the  most  striking  evidence  of  Sinache- 
rib's  unlikeness  to  his  great  predecessor  is  furnished  by  his 
attitude  towards  the  Babylonian  question  and  his  treat- 
ment of  the  Babylonians.  Tliat  country  was  the  first  to 
engage  his  attention.     Sargon  had  trusted  the  enthusiastic 

272 


*■ 


Ch.  V,  §  671 


AFFAIRS   IN  BABYLON 


273 


feeling  manifested  towards  him  at  the  time  of  his  occu- 
pation in  709  (§  663).  With  reverence  for  the  ancient 
home  of  Semitic  civilization,  he  refused  the  honour  of 
being  an  actual  resident  king,  and  contented  himself  with 
representation  through  a  vicegerent,  who  was,  however, 
not  to  be  an  Assyrian  vassal.  His  aim  evidently  had  been 
to  promote  the  permanent  influence  of  the  Babylonian 
temples  and  schools,  and  to  utilize  both  of  these  time- 
honoured  institutions  for  the  development  and  pn'><ti</e  of 
his  own  proper  country  by  extending  to  them  his  patron- 
age and  protection.  Sinaelierib,  on  the  other  hand,  who 
had  immediately  quitted  the  "City  of  Sargon  *'  (^  067), 
perhaps  on  account  of  the  unpleasant  associations  con- 
nected with  his  father's  death,  and  fixed  his  residence  in 
Nineveh,  determined  to  make  that  city  the  religious  and 
intellectual  centre  of  the  world,  and  belittled  proportion- 
ally the  fame  and  influence  of  P>abylon. 

§  071.  It  must  be  confessed,  however,  that  the  affairs 
of  Babylonia  at  his  accession  were  not  in  such  a  condition 
as  to  naturally  invite  a  very  considerate  or  tolerant  treat- 
ment. It  soon  appeared  indeed  that  he  would  have  to 
choose  between  letting  Babylonia  drift  outside  the  sphere 
of  Assyrian  influence  or  setting  things  in  order  with  a  heavy 
hand.  It  was  clear,  at  ar.y  rate,  that  the  altogether  ex- 
ceptional and  un-Assyrian  regime  of  home-rule  established 
by  Sargon  could  not  last.  The  first  ruler  of  Babylonia  after 
the  accession  of  Sinacherib,  of  whom  we  know  anvthinsr 
was  Marduk-zdkir-mm  ("  Merodach  announces  the  name  "). 
We  have  the  authority  of  Berossus  for  the  statement  that 
he  put  aside  the  brother  of  Sinacherib  and  made  himself 
king.  This  was  done  in  defiance  of  Sinacherib,  who  was 
of  course  the  nominal  king  for  the  preceding  two  years 
(705-703),  and  in  fact  so  appears  in  the  Canon  of  Ptolemy. 
The  adventurer's  reign  lasted,  however,  but  one  month, 
after  which  he  was,  in  his  turn,  thrust  out  by  no  less  a 
personage  than  the  irre})ressible  Merodach-baladan  himself 
(§621  ft'.,  637,  660  ff.),  who,  we  may  be  sure,  had  been 

X 


i  \ 


!l 


\  jNrfi 


i  111 

■•xa 

m 


it'*' 


!• 


i 


1   '  31 

I 


274 


CHALD;EANS   and  their  allies         book  VIII 


f..l 


■■■■  'W 


scheming  and  intriguing  all  the  preceding  six  years.  Now 
seeing  that  his  old  kingdom  was  going  so  cheap,  he  thought 
it  absurd  that  he  should  not  be  foremost  among  the  pre- 
tenders. 

§  672.  During  his  short  reign  he  set  about  establishing 
himself  in  the  old  fashion  by  cementing  alliances  with  the 
other  Chaldoean  princes,  to  whom  he  was  a  natural  leader, 
and  to  many  of  whom  he  was  hereditary  over-lord;  also 
with  the  Aramtean  chiefs,  and  the  king  of  Elam.  He  soon 
had  sore  need  of  their  aid ;  for  Sinacherib,  nine  months  after 
the  accession  of  the  Chakkean,  descended  upon  the  land, 
and  meeting  him  with  his  allies,  not  far  from  Babylon,  at  a 
place  called  Kisli,  defeated  him  utterly.  Merodach-baladan 
escaped  this  time  also,  though  Assyrian  troops  spent  five 
days  in  searching  for  him  among  the  marshes,  to  which  he 
had  betaken  himself. 

§  673.  Sinacherib  immediately  occupied  Babylon,  where, 
apparently  in  confident  reliance  upon  his  recovered  author- 
ity and  his  renewed  alliance  with  the  Elamites,  Merodach- 
baladan  had  left  all  his  treasure  and  the  members  of  his 
household-  These  became  the  spoil  of  the  conqueror,  who 
further  preceded  to  make  all  the  Chaldsean  adherents 
throughout  Babylonia  feel  that  the  Assyrians  henceforth 
were  to  be  undisputed  masters.  Cities  to  the  number  of 
seventy-five,  in  Chaldfea  proper,  with  four  hundred  and 
twent}"  neighbouring  villages,  were  taken  and  spoiled.  The 
inhabitants  of  other  cities,  both  in  North  and  in  South 
Babylonia,  who  had  shown  sympathy  with  the  Chaldsean 
cause,  including  the  capital  itself,  were  taken  away  as 
prisoners.  A  like  fate  was  shared  by  the  Aramtean  allies, 
the  number  of  Avhose  prisoners  deported  to  Assyria  was 
reckoned  at  two  hundred  and  eight  thousand,  along  with 
nearly  a  million  of  large  and  small  cattle.  Sinacherib  now 
set  a  king  over  the  Babylonians,  Bel-ibni  by  name  (other- 
wise Bel-t'pm),  who  had  been  brought  up  "n  his  own  palace 
"  like  a  little  pet  dog,"  as  the  inscription  phrases  it.^     Chal- 


1  Bellino  Cylinder,  line  13.     See  Note  9  in  Appendix. 


Ch.  V,  §  G74 


INCREASING  DOMINION 


276 


dsea  was,  we  may  assume,  put  in  charge  of  a  military 
administrator  directly  under  the  king  of  Assyria.  As  the 
malcontents  were  found  in  every  corner  of  the  land,  the 
mock  kingship  at  the  capital,  by  the  grace  of  Asshur,  was 
intended  merely  as  a  compromise  and  makeshift  till  the 
time  should  come  for  the  formal  annexation  of  the  whole 
country.  Meanwhile  the  titular  king,  whoever  he  might 
be,  was  always  treated  as  the  creature  of  Sin.icherib. 

vj  674.  Closely  upon  these  undertakings,  though  whether 
immediately  or  not  is  uncertain,  followed  two  successful 
expeditions,  the  one  directed  against  the  Kasshites,  who 
had,  as  in  the  old  times,  been  harassing  the  Babylonian 
border,  and  the  other  against  Ellip,  a  neighbour  and  ally 
of  Elam.  In  both  cases  hard  measure  was  dealt  out  to 
the  inhabitants.  The  Kasshites  received  an  Assyrian  resi- 
dent viceroy.  Many  of  them  were  constrained,  by  the 
burniufj  of  their  tents  and  other  drastic  measures,  to  relin- 
quish  their  nomadic  mode  of  life  and  dwell  in  lixed  habi- 
tations. The  peoi)le  of  Elli])  were  still  more  harshly  dealt 
with  for  their  fidelity  to  Elam.  They  had  to  witness  the 
desolation  of  theii'  homes  while  they  themselves  were 
being  dragged  into  captivity.  In  the  Kasshite  war,  if  his 
chronicler  is  to  be  trusted,  the  king  siiowed  marvellous 
enterprise  and  endurance,  scaling  on  foot  the  almost  im- 
passable mountains,  and  leading  the  way  to  the  hitherto 
inaccessible  retreats  of  the  savage  mountaineers.  On  his 
return  march  from  the  invasion  of  Ellip,  tribute  was  sent 
him  from  some  of  the  remote  districts  of  Media,  of  Avhich 
he  claims  that  the  very  name  was  unknown  to  his  prede- 
cessors. These  transactions  taken  together  probably  filled 
out  the  years  703  and  702. 


,^i 

01 

I'Vl 

i 

1  i 
.•i 

.M 

1  1 

* 

I 


^« 


t:  'i 


CHAPTER  VI 


i3r''ir 


SINACHERIB,    HEZEKIAH,    AND   ISAIAH 


;|     i 


§  675.  The  year  701  witnessed  an  enterprise  of  far 
greater  importance  —  a  march  to  the  West-land  followed 
by  an  ignominious  retreat.  I  cannot  do  better  than  to 
present  the  reader  at  once  with  the  Great  King's  own 
ofticial  account  of  the  expedition.  It  is  translated  from 
his  principal  inscription,  and  follows  directly  upon  the 
detailed  report  of  the  CA^ents  last  described  above,  wliich 
are  assigned  to  his  "second  expedition."  It  reads  as 
follows  (Col.  II,  34  ff.)i:  In  my  third  expedition  I  marched 
to  the  land  of  the  Hettites.  ^■^  Lull,  king  of  the  city 
of  Sidon  —  fear  of  the  sheen  ^  of  my  sovereignty  over- 
whelmed him,  and  he  fled  to  a  remote  place  ^'  in  the  midst 
of  the  sea,  and  I  placed  his  la  ,d  (under  my  yoke). 
^^  Great  Sidon,  Little  Sidon,  ^^  Beth  /iti.  Sarepta,  Mahalliba, 
*^  Usii,  Akzibi  (Ekdippa),  Akko,  '^^  his  strong  cities,  his 
fortresses,  granaries,  '^^  reservoirs,  and  barracks  —  the  might 
of  the  weapons  '^^of  Asshur  my  lord  overwhelmed  them 
and  they  submitted  '*^at  my  feet.  Tuba'al  (Ithobal)  on 
the  throne  of  royalty  *^I  set  over  them.  Tiibute  and 
offerings  of  my  suzerainty  ^''yearl}-,  without  fail,  I  im- 
posed upon  him.  *'  As  to  Menahem  of  Samsiruna, 
*8  Ithobal  of  Sidon,  49Abdili"tu  of  Arvad,  ^^  Urumilku  of 
Byblos,  siMitiiitl  of  Ashdod,  ^apudu'il  the  Beth-Ammon- 
ite, ^^  Chemosh-nadab  the  Moabite,  ^  Melekram  the 
Edomite,  ^^  all  the  kings  of  the  West-land,  regions  ''^  wide- 
extended,  their  weighty  offerings  with  (other)  belongings 

1  In  the  "Taylor  Cylinder,"  I  R.  38,  3-4-39,  41. 
276 


St 

). 


a, 


Ch.  VI,  §  675 


SINACHERIB   IN   PALESTINE 


277 


^'  they  brought  before  nie  and  kissed  my  feet.  ^^  And 
Zedekia,  king  of  Askalon,  ^^who  had  not  submitted  to 
my  yoke  —  his  ancestral  gods,  himself,  ^  his  wife,  his  sons, 
his  daughters,  his  brothers,  his  kindred  ^^  I  took  away  and 
deported  to  Assyria.  ''^  yj^j-imiji,-!  gon  of  Ilukibtu,  their 
former  king  ^  I  set  over  the  people  of  Askalon :  the  ren- 
dering of  tribute  ^*  and  gifts  of  my  sovereignty  I  imposed 
upon  him,  and  so  he  became  my  vassal.  *'^In  the  course 
of  my  expedition,  Beth-Dagon,  ^^Joppa,  Banai-Barka, 
Azurn,  ''"cities  of  Zedekia,  which  at  my  feet  ''^had  not 
promptly  submitted,  I  besieged.  I  took,  I  carried  off  their 
spoil.  ""^  The  lords,  the  nobles,  and  people  of  Ekron, 
'^who  Padi  their  king,  against  their  covenants  and  oath 
'^  to  Assyria,  had  cast  into  iron  fetters,  and  to  Hezekiah, 
"-the  Judaite  had  given  him  up  witli  hostile  intent  (and 
he  shut  him  up  in  a  dungeon)  —  "'^  their  heart  was  afraid. 
Tiie  kings  of  Egypt,  '^and  the  archers,  chariots,  and  horses 
of  the  king  of  Meluha,  "'^a  countless  army,  they  invoked, 
and  they  came  ""to  their  relief.  In  view  of  Elteke  "their 
:tle  arrav  was  set  against  me,  and  they  made  appeal  to 
"*  their  weapons.  With  the  support  of  Asshur  my  lord, 
with  them  "^  T  fought  and  accomplished  their  defeat. 
^^  The  captain  of  the  chariots  and  the  sons  of  the  Egyptian 
king  ^^  along  with  tlie  captain  of  the  chariots  of  tlie  king 
of  Meluha  alive  ^^  my  hands  took  in  the  thick  of  the 
battle.  Elteke  **'^and  Timnath  I  besieged  and  took  and 
carried  off  their  sj)oil.  (Col.  Ill)  H  drew  near  to  Ekron, 
the  lords  2  and  the  nobles  who  had  committed  sin  I  slew, 
and  ^on  stakes  round  about  the  city  I  suspended  their 
corpses.  *  The  people  of  tlie  city  who  had  done  crime  and 
wickedness  ^  I  made  captive.  The  rest  of  them  **  wlio 
had  not  practised  sin  and  vileness  and  whose  guilt "  was 
not  apparent,  I  declared  acquitted.  Pad!  ®  their  king  from 
the  midst  of  Jerusalem  ^I  brought  forth,  and  upon  the 
tlirone  of  dominion  over  them  ^"  I  set,  and  the  tribute  of 
my  suzerainty  "  I  imposed  upon  him.  And  Hezekiah  ^^  the 
Judaite  who  had  not  submitted  to  my  yoke  —  ^^46  of  his 


i,  li 

i 

( 

/  i 


!  , 


'i   i 


I   :.] 


i\  I 


II  :; 


^J 


'I' 


278 


THE   FATE   OF  JUDAH 


Book  VIII 


Ml:         ■ 


fenced  cities,  and  fortresses,  and  small  towns  i*in  their 
vicinity  without  number,  ^^by  breaking  them  down  with 
battering-rams  and  the  strokes  of  ...  ^^  the  assaults  of 
the  breach-stormers(?)  and  the  blows  of  axes  and  hatch- 
ets, ^'  I  besieged  and  took.  200,150  persons,  small  and 
great,  male  and  female,  ^* horses,  mules,  asses,  camels,  large 
cattle,  ^^  small  cattle,  without  number,  I  brought  forth 
from  the  midst  of  them,  '-^and  allotted  as  spoil.  As  for 
himself  like  a  caged  bird  in  Jerusalem  ^Uiis  capital  city, 
I  shut  him  up.  Forts  against  him  ^I  constructed,  and  any 
who  would  go  out  of  the  city  gate  I  caused  ^^  to  turn  back. 
His  cities,  which  I  had  spoiled,  from  his  land  ^^I  cut  off; 
and  to  Mitinti  king  of  Ashdod,  "^  Pad!  king  of  Ekron, 
and  Sil-Bel  ^king  of  Gaza  I  gave,  and  so  curtailed  his 
territory.  ^To  the  former  tribute,  their  yearly  contri- 
bution, -^the  gifts  due  to  my  sovereignty,  I  made  an 
addition  and  ^9  imposed  it  upon  them.  As  for  Hezekiah 
himself,  ®^the  fear  of  the  lustre  of  my  sovereignty  over- 
whelmed him;  and  ^Hhe  Arabs  and  his  (other)  devoted 
Wiuriors,  *^whom  to  strengthen  Jerusalem  his  capital  city 
*'^he  had  introduced  there,  became  seized  with  panic  fear. 
^Together  with  30  talents  of  gold  and  800  talents  of 
silver  ^ .  .  .  great  stores  of  lapis-lazuli,  ^  couches  of  ivory, 
arm  chairs  of  ivory  (covered)  with  elephant  hide,  ^"  ivory 
tusks  .  .  .  wood  .  .  .  wood,  and  such  like,  an  immense 
treasure,  ^^his  daughters,  his  palace-women,  men-singers, 
^'''  women-singers,  to  Nineveh  my  capital  *^  I  made  him 
bring :  and  for  the  rendering  of  the  tribute  ^^  and  making 
homao-e,  he  sent  his  ambassador." 

§  076.  So  runs  the  report  of  the  Great  King.  In  order 
to  understand  it  we  must  read  it  in  the  light  of  parallel 
accounts  from  other  sources,  and  also  bear  in  mind  that 
the  Assyrian  official  records,  while  correct  in  the  main,  are 
apt  to  exaggerate  successes  and  to  gloss  over  reverses,  or 
omit  entirely  to  mention  them.  In  order  to  make  a  fair 
comparison  with  the  Biblical  story  it  is  necessary  to  get 
from  both  sources  a  broad  view  of  the  whole  international 


aril 


i! 


Ch.  VI,  §  677 


INTERNATIONAL  SITUATION 


situation.  We  must  bear  iu  iniiul  that  one  report  Is 
written  from  the  Assyrian  imperial  standpoint,  ami  the 
other  in  the  interests  of  a  religious  and  political  party  in  a 
single  one  of  the  many  western  states  opposed  to  Assyria 
in  this  contest.  From  Kgypt,  moreover,  the  principal  one 
of  the  western  powers,  we  have  nothing  but  an  indirect  tra- 
ditional refei-ence,  while  none  of  the  other  nations  have  left 
any  moiniments  of  the  occurrence  whatever.  The  Biblical 
account  has  to  do  with  the  fortunes  of  .ludah  and  Jerusa- 
lem, and  with  these  alone.  It  is  not  to  be  co-ordinated  witli 
the  professedly  complete  Assyrian  report,  but  is  to  lie  titled 
into  the  plan  of  campaign  which  the  latter  indicates.  In 
spite  of  the  difficulties  that  arise,  it  is  perhaps  possible,  when 
both  sets  of  documents  are  rightly  considered,  to  comjiile 
a  harmonious  and  fairly  exact  history  of  the  whole  affair. 

§  677.  The  general  situation  in  701  was  somewhat  as 
follows.  For  the  three  or  four  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding a  general  revolt  had  been  preparing  in  Palestine. 
To  bring  this  about  was  an  easy  matter  on  the  accession  of 
a  new  and  untried  king.  There  were  also  several  distinct 
movers  and  motives  that  provoked  it,  and  then  sustained 
it  to  the  point  of  resistance  when  the  time  for  suppression 
came.  Within  the  turbulent  territory  itself  theie  were 
two  main  centres  of  agitation  against  Assyrian  control. 
And  outside  of  the  Asiatic  West-land  there  were  two  per- 
sonages who  took  care  that  the  seditious  feeling  was  not 
allowed  to  slumber.  The  foregoing  extract  from  the 
annals  of  Sinacherib  shows  clearly  that  the  chief  opjio- 
nents  of  the  Assyrians  were  Phcenicia  and  Judah.  as  the 
main  points  of  attack  were  Tyre  and  Jerusalem.  Tiie 
position  of  the  Philistian  cities  made  their  possession  a 
matter  of  importance  in  itself;  but  their  reduction  was 
comparatively  an  easy  matter  and  evidently  quite  inci- 
dental  to  the  campaign  against  Judah.  The  other  jteoples 
of  the  West-land,  —  Moabites,  Ammonites,  and  Edomites, 
—  had  no  special  interest  iu  the  business  of  insurrection. 
Hence  without  much  delay  they  placated  the  invadei-s. 


i; 


!   ! 


1 1 


4*' 


1  il 


'l  J 


i.jin 


<M 


( 


j     rl. 


I' 


h 


280 


EGYIT    AND   J U DA II 


Book  VIII 


55  678.  Of  the  machinations  of  Egypt  in  Judah,  and 
the  eagerness  of  a  powerful  party  in  Jerusalem  to  accept 
its  alliance,  we  are  fully  enougii  informed  by  the  Hebrew 
authorities.  The  details  of  ixxrticular  movements  in  Egypt 
itself  are  not  known  to  us.  The  Assyrian  reports  agree  in 
mentioning  (see  above,  Col.  II,  73  f.)  ''kings  of  Egypt  and 
the  king  of  Meluha"  or  the  Sinaitic  peninsula.  There  is 
manifest  allusion  here  to  a  confederacy  of  local  Egyptian 
kings.  What  was  said  in  our  first  volume  of  the  relations 
of  the  Ethiopian  over-lord  to  the  princes  of  the  Delta 
(v^  o47  f.)  will  explain  the  freedom  of  action  enjoyed  by 
the  latter  (cf.  §  656).  The  tendencies  were  also  pointed 
out  which  at  last  brought  about  a  combination  for  the 
aggrandizement  and  defence  of  the  empire  as  a  whole. 
The  fact  that  2  K.  xix.  9,  Isa.  xxxvii.  9,  mention  "•  Tirha- 
kah  king  of  Ethiopia  "  as  the  leader,  simply  shows  that  the 
domination  exercised  by  the  Ethiopian  dynasty  was  now 
effective  enough  to  control  these  northern  princes  and 
marshal  their  united  forces  for  the  relief  of  the  Palestinian 
insurgents.  It  was  in  all  probability  this  renewed  consoli- 
dation of  the  Egyptian  strength  that  gave  the  chief  en- 
couragement to  the  whole  insurrectionary  enterprise.  Tir- 
hakalu  as  the  Hebrew  records  transcribe  his  name  (Egypt. 
T(i/ictrka,  Assyr.  Tarhn,  Gr.  TapdK7]<i,  Tap/to?,  etc.)  was  not 
the  son  of  Sabataka  (§  630,  632),  but  a  young  noble  of 
twenty  who,  by  marriage  with  a  member  of  the  kingly 
house,  gave  some  colour  of  right  to  his  occupation  of  the 
throne  on  the  death  of  that  feeble  prince  about  704.  The 
regent  of  the  Sinaitic  peninsula,  who  is  naturally  nameless 
in  the  Assyrian  records,  fought  of  course  as  the  vassal  of 
Tirliakah,  his  country  being  then  an  appendage  of  Egypt, 
as  it  very  frequently  was  in  ancient  times  (cf.  §  134)  and 
is  at  the  present  day. 

§  67i>.  The  other  chief  instigator  of  revolt  was  the 
indomitable  Merodach-baladan,  of  whom  we  have  already 
heard  so  much.  In  t..e  only  Biblical  passages  that  refer  to 
the  great  Chaldc'can,  his  intervention  in  this  affair  is  indi- 


3iM 


% 


Ch.  \'I,  §  080 


A   GENKUAL   t(  ).\SI'11JACY 


i81 


cated  in  the  most  suggestive  manner.  2  K.  xx.  1'2,  Isa. 
xxxix.  1  (cf.  2  Chr.  xxxii.  31),  inform  us  that  Merodarli- 
baladan  sent  a  letter  and  a  present  to  Hezekiah  in  coii- 
nec'tion  with  his  wonderful  recovery  from  illness.  The 
signiticanee  of  such  gifts,  whose  function  in  propitiating 
superiors,  buying  off  invaders,  and  securing  alliances,  is 
illustrated  not  only  hy  Hihlical  passages  and  by  constant 
forinulie  of  the  cuneiform  inscriptions,  but  by  the  whole 
literature  of  Oriental  history,  and  whose  potency  is  attested 
by  the  aphoristic  wisdom  of  Holy  Writ  (cf.  §  504  f.),  can 
here  be  read  plainly  between  the  lines  of  the  story.  The 
sketch  already  given  (§  »;21  ff.,  661  ft'.,  671  ff.)  of  the 
adventures  of  the  Chaldfean  king  of  Babylon  shows  that 
in  the  year  704  he  had  the  strongest  inducements  ^wssible 
to  create  a  combination  against  Sinacherib  with  all  the 
states  of  the  West.  And  it  is  more  than  a  mere  coinci- 
dence of  dates  that  Tirhakali,  as  is  generally  supposed, 
came  to  the  throne  of  Egyjtt  about  the  same  time.  The 
whole  situation  makes  it  plain,  then,  that  the  movement 
ff)r  the  overthrow  of  Assyrian  domination  had  been  under 
strong  headway  for  two  or  three  years  by  the  time  that  the 
Assyrians  came  upon  Palestine.  This  fact,  and  the  general 
international  relations  as  already  detailed,  being  kept  in 
view,  we  can  noAV  proceed  to  an  examination  of  the  details 
of  the  memorable  expedition. 

§  680.  The  campaign  begins,  presumably  in  the  spring 
or  early  summer  of  701,  with  an  invasion  and  partial  con- 
quest of  Southern  Pluenicia.  Northern  Syria,  with  the 
dependent  coastland,  may  be  assumed  to  have  been  per- 
manently quieted  by  Sargon  (§  624  f.).  Sinacherib's  am- 
bassador boasts  of  their  entire  subjugation,  as  proved  by 
the  extinction  of  their  religion  (2  K.  xviii.  34).  The 
course  of  events  at  this  stage  is  not  quite  easy  to  make 
clear,  as  it  is  plain  that  the  Assyrian  official  account  is 
partial  and  incomplete.  The  omission  of  the  name  of 
Tyre,  the  principal  city,  is  of  itself  more  than  suspicious. 
The  supremacy  of  Tyre  over  the  kindred  communities  in 


'I 


|ii 


§ 


I' 


! 


ff 


i 


:!     i 


ill 


i 


11 


388 


INVASION  OF   I'IKKNKIA 


Book  VIII 


■i 


these  times  is  well  established.  The  very  fiiet  that  Tig- 
lathpileser  III  and  Saigou  II  do  not  name  Sidon  at  all 
is  proof  of  the  predominance  of  Tyre.^  The  silence  of 
Sinacheril)  can  only  be  due  to  the  failure  of  an  attack 
upon  Tyre,  since  a  collision  on  his  part  with  the  ruling 
city  was  unavoidable.  , 

§  681.  A  key  to  the  (juestion  is  found  in  a  citation 
made  by  Josephus'-^  from  Menander,  the  Ephesian  historian 
of  Tyre.  According  to  the  extract  from  Menander,  Elu- 
hcus,  who  reigned  thirty-six  years,  was  king  of  Tyre  at 
this  time.  1 1  is  kingdom  being  invaded  by  the  Assyrians 
during  his  absence  in  Cyprus,  where  he  was  reducing  the 
rebellious  inhabitants  of  Kition  ("Chittim")  to  subjection 
(cf.  §  42),  Sidon,  Akko,  and  Old  Tyre  (>}  irdXai,  Tupo?) 
revolted  from  him,  and,  with  many  other  cities,  joined  the 
Assyrians.  They  furnished  their  new  allies  with  sixty 
ships  and  eight  hundred  men ;  but  these  were  defeated  in 
a  naval  battle  by  twelve  ships  of  Tyre,  with  the  loss  of 
live  hundred  men.  The  New  or  island  city  of  Tyre  was, 
liowever,  besieged  by  the  Assyrians  for  five  years.  But 
the  Tyrians  were  able  to  hold  out,  their  water  supply 
being  obtained  by  digging  wells  on  the  island  itself,  to 
replace  the  aqueducts  that  had  been  cut  off  by  the  be- 
siegers. Josephus  states  that  the  Assyrian  king  was 
Shalmaneser  (IV),  but  this  is  perhaps  a  conjecture  of 
his  own.  While  in  all  ways  improbable,  it  is  made 
specially  unlikely  by  the  fact  that  Sargon,  Shalmaneser's 
successor,  and  the  heir  of  his  projects,  makes  no  mention 
of  any  part  of  the  affair. 

§  682.  The  events  described  may  much  more  fitly  be 
harmonized  with  the  facts  related  by  Sinacherib.  The  in- 
vasion of  Pha?nicia  may  possibly  have  been  occasioned  b}'' 
appeals  of  the  Kitians  to  Sinacherib  for  help.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  certain  of  the  cities  of  Cyprus,  of  which 
Kition  may  have  been  one,  had  acknowledged  the  over- 
lordship  of  Sargon  (§  666).     That  Sinacherib  calls  Elu- 


1  Cf.  Meyer,  GA.  §  367. 


-  Ant.  ix.  4,  3. 


liW 


Cii.  VI,  §  (583 


KKSISTANCE  UF  TYllK 


283 


licus  (^Lull')  king  of  Sidon  and  not  of  Tyre  is  natunilly  to 
bu  t'xplained  on  tlie  assumption  that  ho  preferred  calling 
attention  to  the  city  which  submitted  to  him  (Col.  II.  J]8, 
§  67;"))  rather  than  to  that  which  ballled  his  efforts  to  sub- 
jugate it.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Sinacherib  in  the 
same  inscription  (II,  30  f.)  declares  that  Eluheus  fled  to  a 
remote  place  in  the  sea,  which  was  obviously  the  island 
fortress  of  Tyre  (rcfeiTcd  to  by  Menander  as  above),  while 
in  another  document^  he  asserts  that  it  was  in  Cyi)rus 
(^Yatnan)  that  he  took  refuge.  Of  course  there  was  no 
reason  for  resort  to  C^'prus  as  long  as  the  insular  city  was 
open  to  him,  and  Sinacherib  gives  us  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  it  was  not.  Additional  probability  is  lent  to  the  main 
hypothesis  by  the  circumstance  that  Sinacherib  claims  for 
himself  in  detail  (and  rightly)  the  subjection  of  all 
Pha'uicia  except  Tyre.  This  can  onl}'  be  ex[)lained  on  the 
assumption  that  the  other  communities  had  revolted  from 
Tyre,  of  course  under  Assyrian  instigation  and  pressure. 

§  683.  The  sea-fight  related  by  INIenander  is  also  now 
readily  accounted  for,  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  the 
superior  prowess  and  seamanship  of  the  Tyrians,  which  had 
given  them  predominance  among  the  Phoenicians,  gave 
them  also  the  victory  in  this  ease  against  tremendous 
odds.  It  only  remains  to  be  added  in  this  connection 
that  if  it  seems  surprising  that  a  siege  of  five  years  could 
be  sustained  by  the  island  city,  while  Sinacherib  was  so 
busily  occupied  in  other  quarters,  the  difficulty  vanishes 
when  one  considers  that  it  could  not  have  been  the  Assyr- 
ians who  directly  conducted  the  siege,  but  IMioMiician 
sailors  and  soldiers  as  vassals  of  Assyria.  This  most  re- 
nowned maritime  fortress  of  the  ancient  world  was  already 
giving  proof  of  that  matchless  jiower  of  heroic  resistance 
which  afterwards  defied  Nel)uchadrezzai'  and  Alexander. 
The  Tyrians,  like  the  other  Pluenieians,  were  at  all  times 
ready  to  pay  tribute  to  the  Great  King,  whether  he  was 
Assyrian,  Babylonian,  or  Persian  (cf.  §  42).     But  in  the 

1  III   H.  l-\  18.    See  Note  10  in  Appeiulix. 


*\ 


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t^    ( 


284 


TWO   LINES   OF   INVASION 


Book  VIII 


present  ease  it  was  not  a  question  of  allegiance,  but  of  the 
abdication  of  maritime  supremacy,  and  such  pre-eminence 
Tyre  was  as  little  willing  to  forego  as  was  afterwards  her 
greatest  colony,  Carthage. 

55  G84.  Yet  the  success  of  Sinacherib  in  securing  the 
submission  of  the  greater  portion  of  Phoenicia  was  brilliant 
and  imposing.  The  allegiance  of  the  outlying  principali- 
ties of  Palestine,  —  Amnion,  Moab,  Edom,  —  which  had 
suffered  little  from  Assyrian  invasions  and  had  compara- 
tivel}'  little  at  stake  in  the  quarrel  (§  677),  Avas  not  long 
withheld  (11,  52-54).  Among  the  Philistines,  who  lay 
in  the  direct  line  of  southern  march,  Ashdod,  fresh  from 
tiie  memories  of  711  (§  G81  f.),  decided  to  remain  true 
to  Assyria.  Secure  with  these  essential  advantages,  the 
invader  continued  his  progress.  His  great  object  now  was 
to  crush  the  head  of  the  insurrection  before  Egypt  could 
interpose.  Thus  he  would  be  free  to  carry  the  war  into 
Africa.  Everything  promised  well  for  his  designs,  and  his 
plans  were  executed  with  signal  ability.  They  followed 
two  lines  of  aggression.  On  the  one  hand,  Judah  must  be 
subdued,  to  be  forever  held  as  the  great  vantage-ground 
against  Egypt ;  on  the  other,  the  Philistian  coast-land,  the 
international  highway,  must  be  seized  and  perpetually 
secured.  The  one  enterprise  was  involved  with  the  other, 
because  some  of  the  leading  communities  of  the  Philis- 
tines, in  whose  politics  Judah  had  since  the  time  of  Uzziah 
(§  268)  taken  a  controlling  place,  were  still  Palestinian 
in  sympathy,  and  were  kept  by  Judaizing  tendencies,  as 
well  as  by  diplomatic  and  military  influence,  on  the  side 
of  independence  and  the  Western  league.  These  cities, 
then,  must  be  won  over  or  reduced,  while  Judah,  beinjr 
itself  attacked,  would  be  powerless  to  prevent  their  sub- 
jugation. 

v5  685.  Accordingly,  the  army  of  invasion  moved  simul- 
taneouslj'  in  two  divisions:  the  one  invaded  Judah,  the 
other  took  in  hand  the  Philistian  principalities,  at  the 
same  time  preparing  to  checkmate  the  Egyptians.     The 


Cii.  VI,  §  0S7 


DKVASTATION   (»F  .JUDAII 


285 


j^eiieml  line  of  mairli  was  apparently  as  follows.  Leaving 
a  small  number  of  troops  to  guard  Assyrian  interests  in 
IMujenicia,  the  Great  Iving  led  his  forces  southwest,  across 
tlie  plain  of  Jezreel,  through  territory  which  was  now  jier- 
manently  loyal  to  liis  sovereignty  (§  o31,  304,  G'24  f.). 
Soon  thereafter  the  army  was  divided.  A  portion  of  it, 
at  wliose  head  the  king  himself  remained,  marched  south- 
ward along  the  coast,  while  a  powerful  force  advanced 
soutlieastward  through  Samaria,  into  the  heart  of  the 
Judteau  kingdom,  the  stronghold  of  the  revolt. 

§  68G.  Here  there  fell  upon  Judah  the  heaviest  blow 
which  it  had  ever  suffered  since  it  became  a  nation.  It  is 
briefly  touched  upon  in  the  surviving  annals  of  the  coun- 
try, and  more  fully  detailed  in  the  Assyrian  accounts.  It 
was  nothing  short  of  the  devastation  of  the  kingdom  out- 
side of  Jerusalem,  north  and  northwest  of  the  capital 
(cf.  §  696).  2  K.  xviii.  13  tells  us  that  Sinacherib  "came 
u[)  against  all  the  fortified  cities  of  Judah  and  took  them." 
The  vagueness  of  the  Hebrew  style  of  expression,  and  the 
comprehensiveness  of  the  statement,  prevent  the  cursory 
reader,  and  have  indeed  prevented  most  Biblical  students, 
from  realizing  the  full  measure  of  destruction  and  suffer- 
ing involved  in  this  sunnnary  statement.  The  inscriptional 
record,  in  spite  of  the  obscurity  of  some  of  its  terms  (Col. 
Ill,  11-20),  indicates  clearly  the  fury  of  the  successive 
attacks  upon  the  forty-six  walled  cities  which  were  one 
after  another  taken  by  assault,  along  with  an  unestimated 
number  of  smaller  towns.  The  enormous  number  of  pris- 
oners taken  and  deported  to  Assyria,  seven  times  greater 
than  those  made  ca[)tive  after  the  surrender  of  Samaria 
(s?  362),  is  an  additional  indication  of  the  widespread  ruin 
and  devastation  invoked  by  the  remorseless  Ninevite. 

§  687.  The  course  of  the  invasion  is  not  indicated  in 
any  extant  document  except  in  one  much  misinter[)reted 
passage  of  Isaiah  (Isa.  x.  28  32).  who  traced  the  progress 
of  the  Assyrians  in  the  latest  stage  of  tlieir  a[)[)roaeh  to 
the  capital  from  the  north,  the  direct  road  from  liethel, 


''  1 


I  i 
I 


i  m 


■\ 


iii 


I  i 


iSf 


286 


SUBMISSION   OF   llEZEKIAIl 


Book  VIII 


r'-n 


M 


II 


through  the  deep  gorge  of  Michmash,  once  held  by  a  gar- 
rison of  the  Philistines  when  they  too  had  come  upon 
Judah  by  the  same  line  of  attack  (§  196, 1  Sam.  xiii.,  xiv.). 
In  language  wliich  in  its  minute  particularization  and 
abrupt  transitions  bears  the  stamp  of  reality,  and  betrays 
the  intense  excitement  of  the  prophet  on  the  watch,  the 
itinerary  of  the  enemy's  army  is  given  as  accurately  as  it 
was  noted  in  the  tablets  of  the  Assyrian  general.  This 
memorable  march,  which  could  almost  be  viewed  from  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  represents,  however,  but  little  of  the  soil 
trodden  by  the  desolating  battalions  of  Asshur ;  for  the 
summary  given  in  the  Inscriptions  doubtless  embraces  the 
whole  extent  of  the  injury  wrought  during  the  campaign. 
§  688.  Isaiah's  excited  outburst  over  the  approach  of 
the  destroyers  forms  the  culmination  of  the  first  period  of 
the  active  conflict  between  Assyria  and  Judah,  since  the 
irruption  from  the  north  was  followed  b}""  the  submission  of 
Hezekiah  and  his  formal  renunciation  of  the  anti-Assyrian 
league.  The  Judcean  record  thus  describes  (2  K.  xviii.  14- 
16)  the  effect  of  tlie  demonstration  of  what  Sinacherib 
calls  the  sheen  of  his  majesty  (Col.  Ill,  30)  :  "And  Heze- 
kiah king  of  Judah  sent  to  the  king  of  Assyria  to  Lachisli, 
saying :  '  I  have  sinned ;  turn  back  from  against  me  ;  what 
thou  mayst  assign  to  me  I  shall  pay.'^  And  the  king  of 
Assyria  laid  upon  Hezekiah  king  of  Judah  300  talents  of 
silver  and  30  talents  of  gold.  And  Hezekiah  gave  up  all  the 
mone}^  which  was  at  hand  in  the  house  of  Jehovah  and  in 
the  treasures  of  the  king's  house.  At  the  same  time  Heze- 
kiah cut  off  the  doors  of  the  temple  of  Jehovah,  and  the 
pillars  which  Hezekiah  king  of  Judah  had  overlaid,  and 
gave  them  to  the  king  of  Assyria."  The  narrative  implies, 
or  rather  asserts,  that  Sinacherib  accepted  Hezekiah's 
terms ;  Hezekiah,  in  the  technical  language  of  the  Assyri- 
ans themselves,  declared  that  he  had  been  a  "siiuier" 
against  the  right  of  his  suzerain  (cf.  §  290),  asked  liim  to 
name  the  indemnity  which  would  secure  the  withdrawal 


1  Sec  Note  11  iu  Appemlix. 


AwMMiwiimW 


Cii.  VI,  §  090 


CAMPAIGN   IX  I'lIILISTIA 


28" 


of  the  army  of  invasion,  and  promised  to  furnish  the  full 
amount.  The  sum  was  named,  and  according  to  the  re- 
port of  Sinacherib  himself,  it  was  at  least  fully  paid  (Col. 
Ill,  34  ff.),  and  the  threatened  attack  on  the  city  was  of 
course  averted.  Judah  was  thus  humiliated  and  mulcted 
in  an  enormous  fine,  besides  being  put  in  bonds  for  an 
increased  annual  tribute ;  but  the  city  itself  was  spared. 
The  submission  of  Hezekiali  took  place,  we  are  told,  when 
the  Great  King  was  at  Lachish.  We  must  now  return  to  the 
story  of  the  expeditionary  force  in  the  western  coastland. 

§  689.  The  reader  will  remember  what  has  been  said 
of  the  peculiar  constitution  and  history  of  the  Philistian 
petty  states  (§  54,  192  ff.).  Of  the  five  leading  cities  of 
the  early  days,  Gath  was  now  no  more  a  community  of  any 
consequence  (cf.  vol.  i,  p.  291;  Amos  i.  0-8).  Of  the 
remaining  four,  Ashdod,  with  its  environment  of  villages, 
had  been  organized  in  711  under  Assyrian  administration 
(§  632),  and  as  has  just  been  stated  remained  true  to  its 
allegiance,  while  Gaza  bore  only  a  very  subordinate  part  in 
tlie  international  affairs  of  the  time.  Ekron  and  Askalon, 
on  the  other  hand,  were  well  to  the  front  in  the  present 
business,  and  though,  like  Judah,  divided  in  sentiment,  were 
under  the  control  of  an  energetic  anti-Assyrian  element. 
The  former  city,  especially,  needed  attention  from  Sina- 
cherib on  account  of  its  intimate  relations  with  Jerusalem 
(§  692).  To  secure  these  cities,  with  the  circumjacent  terri- 
tory, as  well  as  other  strategic  points,  the  army  Avas  formed 
into  several  divisions  which  operated  simultaneously.  The 
area  of  occupation  was  at  the  same  time  so  easily  traversed 
and  so  compact  that  the  whole  of  the  forces  could  be  con- 
centrated upon  any  one  i)oint  to  meet  any  combination 
which  the  allied  Egyptians  and  Palestinians  could  muster. 

§  690.  There  appear  to  have  been  three  centres  of 
attack  —  Ekron,  Askalon,  and  Lachish.  The  last-named 
famous  old  city,  which  has  been  so  prominently  brought 
before  the  world  b}-  the  late  excavations  upon  its  site,^  is, 

1  By  F.  J.  Bliss,  cf.  vol.  i,  187,  note  2. 


!><■ 


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in  : 


288 


ASKALON  AND  EKRON 


Book  VIII 


curiously  enough,  not  mentioned  in  the  Assyrian  memoirs 
at  all.  But  the  prominence  given  to  it  in  the  Bible  account 
is  fully  justified  by  a  sculpture  in  relief  upon  the  walls  of 
Sinacherib's  palace  at  Nineveh,  commemorating  its  capture 
and  indicating  its  importance  in  the  history  of  the  cam- 
paign.^ The  omission  from  the  written  report  must  be 
admitted  to  furnish  sufficient  evidence  of  the  incomplete- 
ness of  the  record,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  it  forcibly 
suggests  the  extensive  operations  of  tlie  Assyrian  armies. 

§  GOl.  Askalon  was  the  first  of  the  cities  to  surrender, 
if  we  may  judge  from  the  fact  that  its  fall  is  mentioned  '.n 
the  official  accounts  (Col.  II,  58  ff.)"^  before  that  of  Ekron. 
Its  kinglet  Zedekiah  had  usurped  the  throne  in  the  interest 
of  tlie  concerted  revolt.  Sinacherib  dethroned  him  and 
carried  him  away  to  Assyria  along  with  his  near  and 
remoter  relations  and  his  household  gods.  His  predeces- 
sor, whose  xVssyrian  name,  Sarlnddri  ("  may  the  king  live 
forever  "' ),  speaks  significantly  of  his  former  allegiance,  and 
who  was  the  son  of  a  ruler  installed  by  Tiglathpileser  III 
in  place  of  the  seditious  Metinti  (§  332,  33-4),  had  been 
expelled  by  Zedekiah,  but  was  now  restored  to  the  place 
and  the  dignity  of  a  vassal  of  Asshur. 

§  692.  The  fortunes  of  Ekron  (Col.  II,  69  ff.)3  are  still 
more  instructive  as  to  the  antecedent  stages  of  the  rebel- 
lion. There  had  been  a  fierce  domestic  struggle  on  the 
([uestion  of  fealty  to  Assyria.  Padl  (or  Padaiah)  the  king, 
whose  name,  like  that  of  Zedekiah,  indicates  the  political 
and  religious  influence  of  Judah  (§  26S),  was,  with  his 
party,  on  the  side  of  continued  loyalty.  Hezekiah  of 
Judah,  acting  as  it  would  seem  the  part  of  a  suzerain, 
took  sides  with  the  insurgents,  and  in  the  revolution 
which  ensued  and  which  ended  in  the  dethronement  of 
Padi,  seized  the  defeated  chief  and  thrust  him  into  a  dun- 
geon in  Jerusalem.  The  disaffected  party  in  Ekron  now 
made   a  desperate  resistance    to   the   Assyrian   besiegers. 


1  See  Note  12  in  Appendix, 
a  Cf.  Ill  H.  1-',  22  f£. 


•^  Cf.  the  abstract  III  II.  12,  21  f. 


Cii.  VI,  §094 


EGYPTIAN   INTERVENTION 


289 


During  the  progress  of  the  siege  occurred  the  most  im- 
portant --vent  of  the  campaign,  the  long-delayed  interven- 
tion of  Egypt. 

§  693.  We  have  a  twofold  indication  of  the  relative 
point  of  time  of  this  collision  between  the  empires  of  the 
Tigris  and  the  Nile.  The  cuneiform  account  (Col.  II,  73  ff.) 
mentions  it  in  eoiniection  with  the  uprising  in  Ekron,  and 
after  the  story  of  the  episode  is  completed,  returns  imme- 
diately to  the  siege  of  that  city.  Hence  we  may  conclude 
that  the  direct  object  of  the  Egyptian  intrusion  was  the 
relief  of  Ekron.  The  Hebrew  record  (2  K.  xix.  8  ff.)  tells 
us  that  when  Sinacherib  heard  of  the  advance  of  the  Egyp- 
tian forces,  he  had  just  left  Lachish  and  was  engaged  in 
the  siege  of  Libnali.  The  time  then  was  just  after  the  fall 
of  Lachish,  when  the  reduction  of  its  dependent  towns  had 
been  begun.  Now  '1  K.  xviii.  14,  ali-eady  quoted,  indicates 
that  the  submission  of  llezekiah  took  place  while  Lachish 
was  still  under  siege.  That  event,  therefore,  must  have 
ha[)pened  before  the  inroad  of  the  Egyptian  relieving  force. 
The  situation  was  accordingly  in  brief  as  follows.  Judali 
had  renounced  the  league  under  stress  of  dire  necessity. 
Sinacherib,  placated  by  tlie  rich  offering  of  the  humiliated 
Hezekiah  and  trusting  to  his  enforced  lidelitv,  had  tempo- 
rarily withdrawn  his  army.  One  main  division  of  his 
troops  was  begiiniing  to  besiege  Ekron,  while  he  himself, 
probably  because  he  wished  personally  to  guard  the  threat- 
ened frontier,  remained  with  the  force  that  was  engaged 
with  the  southern  towns  that  had  joined  the  rebellious 
confederacy.  When  the  Egyptian  troops  appeared  on 
the  scene  with  their  allies  from  the  Sinaitic  peninsula 
(•■  Melfiha"),  the  Assyrian  monarch  withdrew  his  own 
innnediate  force  from  Libiiah,  while  his  turtan  drew  off  his 
troops  from  Ekron  and  the  neighbourhood  and  came  to  join 
Sinacherib  at  Elteke,  nearly  midway  between  Lachish  and 
Ekron  (Josh.  xix.  44). 

§  694.  In  the  battle  which  ensued  (Col.  II,  76  ff.) 
Sinacherib   claims    the    victory,    and   that    rightly.      The 

V 


Ml 


'{ii 


;,  J  11 1. 


lil 


290 


FALL   OF  EKl'vOX 


Book  VIII 


P   !■ 


I  i 


|l.ij  i»'fi 


defeat  of  tliu  Egyptiiiu  combination  was  coni[)lete.  Their 
success  was  antecedently  improbable.  The  demoralization 
of  the  I'^gyptian  governmental  system  as  well  as  of  the 
army,  attested  by  Herodotus  (cf.  §  705),  as  Avell  as  by  all 
other  evidence,  rendered  an  enterprise  of  this  character 
one  of  very  dubious  promise.  Notwithstanding  the  profuse 
offers  of  help  to  the  revolting  Palestinians,  we  maj^  believe 
that  the  campaign  was  undertaken  rather  from  dread  of 
an  Assyrian  invasion  than  from  a  desire  to  keep  faith  with 
hard-[)ressed  allies.  The  best  proof  of  the  defeat  of  the 
Egyptians  is,  however,  the  fact  that,  in  spite  of  the  subse- 
quent vigorous  regime  of  Tirhakah,  they  not  only  refrained 
from  actively  interfeiing  again  with  Sinacherib,  but  kept 
themselves  clear  of  Palestine  for  many'  years  thereafter. 

§  695.  The  consequences  of  the  ill-fated  expedition 
to  the  insurgent  states  in  Palestine  was  naturally  most 
unfavourable.  Immediately  after  the  battle,  Elteke  and 
the  neighbouring  Timnath  were  taken  and  plundered,  while 
Ekron  was  besieged  in  earnest.  In  due  course  it  was 
taken  by  storm.  The  (treat  King,  now  thoroughly  exas- 
perated on  account  of  the  intrigues  with  Egypt,  resolved 
to  inflict  exemplary  punishment  upon  the  leaders  of  the 
revolt  in  Ekron  (Col.  Ill,  1-3).  They  were  indeed  treated 
with  a  severit}-  quite  rare  in  the  history  of  the  Assyrian 
])olicy  in  Palestine  (cf.  §  0:25).  But  the  lives  of  the  rest 
of  the  inhabitants  were  spared.  A  discrimination  between 
them  was  made,  as  had  been  done  in  the  case  of  Samaria 
(§  304).  While  those  who  were  proved  innocent  of  sedition 
were  amnestied,  the  guilty^  were  carried  away  into  captivity. 
About  the  same  time,  or  a  little  earlier,  other  towns  within 
the  domain  of  Ekron  were  taken,  the  names  of  the  most  of 
which,  Joppa,  Bene-berak  (Josh.  xix.  45),  and  Beth-Dagon 
(Josh.  XV.  41),  are  familiar  to  students  of  the  Bible.  These 
the  campaign  annalist,  Avho  in  this  matter  is  heedlessly  fol- 
lowed by  modern  scholars,  describes  (Col.  II,  65-67 ;  cf .  58) 
as  dependencies  of  Askalon.  But  the  sphere  of  influence 
of  Askalon  was  necessarily  local,  and  between  it  and  the 


Mfi^M 


Cii.  VI,  §000     JETU'SALEM   AGAIN  THREATENED 


201 


.e 


towns  in  question  there  intervenetl  not  only  Ekron  but  the 
Assyrianized  Ashdod.  Over  E.iron  itself  was  reinstated 
the  former  king  Pad!,  the  prisoner  of  Ilezekiah,  who  had 
released  him  upon  the  demand  of  Sinacherib  (Col.  Ill, 

7  ff.). 

§  096.  It  might  seem  that  the  subjugation  and  pacifi- 
cation of  Palestine  and  Syria  Avere  now  completed.  But 
the  Assyrian  king  thought  otherwise.  His  army  had  not 
been  long  withdrawn  from  Jerusalem,  before  he  saw  reason 
for  cancelling  his  agreement  to  spare  the  city.  That  com- 
pact had,  perhaps,  been  concluded  unadvisedly  on  his  part. 
He  may  have  thought  it  impossible  that  Hezekiah,  impov- 
erished by  long  tribute-giving,  could  pay  the  fine  he 
imposed.  The  effect  produced  by  the  prompt  "raising" 
of  the  money,  according  to  the  unconditional  pledge  of 
Ilezekiah,  was  doubtless  enhanced  by  the  release  of  Padi, 
and  the  early  prospect  of  his  being  replaced  in  Ekron,  the 
other  leading  insvirrectionary  state.  Sinacherib,  at  all 
events,  kept  his  eye  on  Jerusalem.  He  well  knew  that 
the  strong  Egyptian  party  there  needed  watching,  and 
before  long  he  suspected,  or,  perhaps,  was  informed,  of 
renewed  negotiations  (2  K.  xviii.  20  f.)^  This  justified  a 
second  attempt  on  Jerusalem.  That  perfidious  city  must 
at  last  be  made  what  Asshur  had  manifestly  designed  it  for, 
an  Assyrian  stronghold.  Sargon's  policy  of  clemency  in 
Palestine  (§  364,  625)  must  not  be  carried  too  far ;  Jeru- 
salem, at  least,  must  share  the  fate  of  her  sister  capital, 
Samaria.  Hence  the  sending  of  the  Assyrian  army  to 
Jerusalem,  described  in  2  K.  xviii.  17 ;  cf.  Isa.  xxii.  6  f. 
It,  we  ma}'  suppose,  resumed  also  the  work  of  destruction 
and  spoliation  among  the  cities  and  villages  of  Judah,  this 
time  to  the  west  and  south  of  the  capital  (cf.  §  686). 

1  Tsaiali,  in  Ch.  xxxiii.  8,  accuses  Sinacherib  of  liaviui;  "broken  the 
covenant."  But  in  this  he  does  not  necessarily  lay  the  blame  upon  the 
Assyrians  alone.  The  "covenant"  was,  of  course,  the  agreement  made 
upon  the  payment  of  the  fine  by  Hezekiah,  including  the  promise,  ex- 
pressed or  implied,  to  leave  Jerusalem  unmolested. 


rifHi  :| 


5-'- I: 


f 


292 


AFFAIRS   IN  JERUSALEM 


Book  VIII 


§  697.  Meanwhile,  Jerusalem  was  a  scene  of  excitement 
and  confusion  and  the  clash  of  opposing  interests.  The 
Egyptian  and  revolutionary  party,  though  still  secretly 
active,  had  proved  themselves  but  sorry  counsellors.  Their 
influence  and  j)7'e8ti(/e  began  to  decline  with  the  advance 
of  the  Assyrians  into  the  home-land,  and  must  have  re- 
ceived notable  shocks  with  the  decision  of  Hezekiah  to 
buy  off  Sinacherib  (§  688),  the  capture  of  Ekron  (§  69o), 
and,  above  all,  with  the  disastrous  overthrow  of  the  tardy 
Egyptian  army  of  relief  (§  694).  The  state  of  affairs  in 
the  capital  is  vividly  pictured  by  Isaiah  (ch.  xxii.)  as  he 
looks  out  from  his  prophetic  watch-tower  over  Kidron, 
'•  the  valley  of  vision "  (xxii.  1,  5),  now  filled  with  the 
(•h.iriots  and  horsemen  of  Sinacherib  and  the  contiufjents 
from  his  subject  states.^  This  chapter  is,  in  fact,  more 
important  for  its  historical  information  than  for  its  ethical 
value.  From  it  we  gather  that  although  a  general  and 
strenuous  endeavour  was  made  to  improve  the  defences  of 
the  city  (§  698),  a  fierce  struggle  was  still  going  on  between 
the  two  leading  parties.  It  would  seem  that  the  palace 
faction,  who  had  had  their  way  so  far  in  diplomatic  and  mili- 
tary measures,  and  who  were  responsible  for  the  coup  cVetat 
in  Ekron  and  the  understanding  with  Egypt,  were  under 
the  guidance  and  inspiration  of  a  certain  Shebna,  the  king's 
chancellor  (literally,  "  care-taker,  manager,"  or  the  '•  con- 
troller of  the  household,"  xxii.  15 ;  §  522).  This  man 
was  apparently  of  foreign  origin  (v.  16),  and  possibly  an 
Aranifean,  if  anything  is  to  be  inferred  from  the  form  of 
the  name.  He  was  specially  obnoxious  to  Isaiah  as  the 
head  and  front  of  a  pernicious  clique  and  a  baneful  policy. 
And  now  that  this  untheocratic  party  had  been  discredited 

1  ludiciiteil,  according  to  genuine  Hebrew  fashion,  by  the  naming 
of  two  prominent  sections,  the  troops  from  Elam  and  those  from  Kir 
(2  K.  xvi.  0  ;  Am.  i.  5  ;  ix.  7).  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  Assyrian  kings 
never  mention  tlie  nationalities  of  thoir  dependent  or  auxiliary  troops, 
These  are  called  indiscriminately  and  collectively  "soldiers  of  (the  god) 
Asshur,"  a  striking  evidence  at  once  of  tlie  centralism  of  Semitic  govern- 
ment and  the  strength  of  the  religious  sentiment  (§  57). 


1  I 


Ch.  VI,  §  098      PARTY   LEADERS   IN  THE   CITY 


203 


by  the  course  of  events,  Isaiah  takes  the  opportunity  of 
dealing  it  a  death-blow.  Against  its  leader,  Shebna,  he 
fulminates  in  territic  tones,  which  bespeak  the  concentrated 
wrath  and  contempt  nursed  by  years  of  self-restraint. 
The  ambitious  intriguer  is  rebuked  for  his  presumption  in 
preparing  for  himself  a  costly  sepulchre  like  one  of  the 
native-born  nobles  (v.  16).  He  shall  be  deposed  from  his 
office  and  violently  hurled  from  his  seat  into  exile  and 
obscurity  as  one  throws  a  ball  into  an  open  field  (v.  17  ff., 
25).  His  official  position  is  soon  to  be  taken  by  the  faith- 
ful counsellor  Eliakim,  to  whom  will  be  safely  entrusted 
"  the  key  of  the  house  of  David  "  (vs.  20-24).  The  threat 
was  not  wholly  fulfilled  at  once.  Eliakim  was,  however, 
made  his  successor,  and  he  himself  was  placed,  possibly  to 
break  his  fall  and  save  the  self-respect  of  the  humiliated 
king,  his  patron,  in  the  inferior  post  of  scril^e  (§  Gi»0). 
Some  of  the  members  of  his  party  fled  frf)m  Jerusalem, 
perhaps  to  avoid  popular  indignation  as  much  as  to  escape 
the  expected  doom  of  the  city  (xxii.  3).  The  picture  of 
disorder  is  concluded  by  the  melancholy  spectacle  of  other 
unworthy  citizens  who  kept  up  their  reckless  revelry  to 
the  bitter  end,  saying,  "  let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow 
we  shall  die  "  (v.  13). 

§  698.  The  taking  of  Jerusalem  would  have  been  a 
serious  but  by  no  means  an  impossible  undertaking  for 
the  Assyrian  army.  When  the  invaders  first  appeared  in 
Judah,  the  capital  was  very  inadequately  prepared  for  a 
siege,  and  this  may  have  been  one  of  the  reasons  which 
induced  Hezekiah  to  buy  off  the  enemy  (§  688).  But  now, 
upon  Sinacherib's  change  of  policy  and  the  sending  of  his 
army  against  Jerusalem,  measures  were  taken  at  once  to 
fortify  the  city  more  strongly  and  to  provide  an  accessible 
water  supply  for  the  defenders  (Isa.  xxii.  8-11 ;  cf.  2  Chr. 
xxxii.  3-5).  The  fountahis  which  were  used  Avithin  the 
city,  and  which  were  ordinarily  allowed  to  send  their 
superfluous  discharge  beyond  the  walls,  were  provided 
with  retaining  reservoirs,  for  the  double  purpose  of  fur- 


!'    - 


■  in 


i 

' 

1 

! 

i 

' 

1  .■■ 


1'; 


29-1 


PRF.PAHATIOXS   1<T»U    DKFENCE 


Book  VIII 


nishing  an  extra  supply  to  the  besieged,  and  making  water 
generally  iiiaccessil)le  to  tlie  besiegers.  Chiet'  of  these 
springs  was  the  gi'eat  fountain  of  Siloam.  Its  waters 
liad,  [)Ossibly  by  He/.ekiah  himself  ^  (2  K.  xx.  20),  been 
brought  southwestward  from  Gihon  or  the  "  Fountain  of 
the  Viigin  "  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  city,  by  a  famous 
winding  tunnel  1708  i'eet  long.  This  ac^ueduet  is  "the 
brook  that  overflowed  in  the  middle  of  the  terrain " 
(  2  Chr.  xxxii.  4).  Its  redundant  supply  was  now  checked 
from  following  its  wonted  course  to  the  "  Fuller's  Field," 
on  the  eastern  slope  of  Ophel,  through  "the  conduit  of  the 
upper  pool"  (Lsa.  vii.  3),  by  the  formation  of  "a  reservoir 
between  the  two  walls  for  the  waters  of  the  old  pool " 
(lsa.  xxii.  11).^  The  defects  in  the  city  walls  Avere 
repaired.  !Many  of  the  buildings  in  the  city  were  torn 
down  and  the  materials  used  to  form  an  additional  barri- 
cade against  the  engines  of  the  attacking  army. 

§  699.  If  Jerusalem  should  surrender  on  demand,  so 
much  the  better  for  all  parties.  Such  at  least  was  the 
opinion  and  expectation  of  the  Assj'rian  commanders. 
Accordingly,  the  llabshakeh  (^rah  hlku,  "  highest  chief  "), 

1  It  is  tluiusht,  however,  by  some  (Stade,  GVI.  I,  594 ;  cf .  Sayce,  The 
Hiijhcr  i.'riticism,  etc.,  p.  381  f.)  that  the  language  of  lsa.  viii.  0,  "The 
waters  of  Siloah  that  go  softly,"  can  only  refer  to  the  tunnel  and  its  out- 
flow, which  would  therefore  have  been  already  in  exi.stence  in  the  days  of 
Ahaz.  The  forms  of  the  letters  on  the  famous  tunnel  inscription,  discovered 
in  1880  by  young  James  Ilornstein  and  a  companion,  cannot  yet  be  assigned 
to  a  particular  date. 

-The  '"old  pool"  is  therefore  identical  with  the  "upper  pool,"  as 
would  naturally  be  expected.  The  "lower  pool,"  whose  waters  were  also 
held  in  check  by  a  reservoir  (lsa.  xxii.  0),  is  to  be  explained  by  2  Chr. 
xxxii.  30,  when  it  is  .said  that  Ilezekiah  "stopped  the  upper  outflow  of 
the  waters  of  Gihon,  and  directed  them  downwards  on  the  west  side  of  the 
City  of  David."  The  waters  of  Gihon  were  those  which  came  from 
the  Virgin's  Spring.  The  "upper  outflow"  unplies  the  "lower  pool" 
and  its  outflow.  Indeed,  traces  have  been  found  of  a  second  tunnel  con- 
ducting from  the  pool  of  Siloam  southwards  to  a  second  pool  (cf.  Snyce, 
I.e.  p.  382).  The  two  pools  probably  sent  their  overflow  in  common  to 
the  reservoir  in  the  Fuller's  Field.  For  the  whole  situation  compare  the 
measures  adopted  by  Ahaz  (§  320),  and  see  the  plans  in  Stade,  I,  590  ff. 


^ 


Cii.  VI,  §  TOO 


SUMMONS  TO  srKUKNnr.R 


906 


an  officer  of  diplomatic  as  well  as  military  functions, 
wlio  accompanied  the  commander-in-chief  (^Tiirtdn)  and 
the  lieutenant-general  or  division  commander  (^rah  m  rfsr 
'•  chief  of  heads,"  Rabsaris),  summoned  the  city  to  yield. 
The  scene  of  this  memorable  parley  is  one  already  familiar 
to  us  in  connection  with  the  history  of  Ahaz  (§  326).  It 
was  a  place  of  great  resort  on  account  of  the  reservoir  out- 
side of  the  walls,  which  in  times  of  peace  was  reached  by 
the  gate  of  the  king's  garden.  Here  he  was  met  by 
ICliakini,  the  king's  chancellor,  Shebna,  the  scribe,  and 
Joah,  the  chronicler.  On  the  wall  were  the  few  defenders 
(if  the  city.  liehind  them  stood  a  crowd  of  the  populace, 
who  had  just  now  little  sympathy  with  the  Assyrian  rule. 
For  was  not  Egypt  again  under  arms  and  on  the  march  ? 

§  700.  x\n  harangue  was  delivered  by  the  Rabshakeh, 
most  admirably  calculated  to  stir  up  discontent  in  the 
minds  of  the  people.  He  pointed  out  that  it  would  be 
useless  for  the  Judteans  to  resist  the  Great  King,  since 
they  had  no  other  reliance  for  active  conflict  than 
I'^gypt,  and  Egypt  was  a  staff  made  of  a  broken  reed. 
Such  a  characterization  of  Egypt  they  had  repeatedly 
heard  before  as  given  by  their  own  prophet  Isaiah  (cf. 
Isa.  XXX.  0-7).  Thus  the  Assyrian  legate  could  appeal 
to  a  familiar  feeling  of  distrust  in  the  prevailing  policy. 
He  then  uses  a  much  more  specious  plea.  Believing,  as 
did  all  ancient  Semites,  in  the  potency  of  every  national 
god,  he  ingeniously  appeals  to  what  must  have  been  the 
popular  sentiment  even  in  Jerusalem  with  regard  to  the 
intent  and  purport  of  Hezekiah's  reforms  in  religious 
worship  (2  K.  xviii.  22;  cf.  xviii.  4;  2  Chr.  xxxi.).  The 
removal  of  the  "high  places "  was  doubtless  regarded  as 
contri])uting  to  the  })restige  of  Jerusalem  as  com[)ared  M'ith 
the  rest  of  Judah.  lint  it  was  not  difficult  to  make  even 
the  Jerusalemites  believe  that  to  deprive  Jehovah  of  his 
local  sanctuaries  was  to  abridge  his  authority  and  lower 
him  in  comparison  with  the  gods  of  the  surrounding  peo- 
ple's.    Thus  his  power  for  offence  or  defence  would  be  of 


1'( 

i 


ko 


I       si 


It 


'k 


!   " 


I  i 


■.I  I 


see 


TIIK   RABSIIAKKirS   IIARANiiL'K 


B.x.K  VIII 


f'onipiuatively  little  account.  He  tlien  ridiculed  the  idea 
of  re-sistancu  on  the  part  of  a  peoijle  who  had  to  trust  to 
Egypt  for  chariots  and  horsemen,  saying  that  they  would 
n  )t  be  able  to  muster  two  thousand  riders,  if  that  number 
of  Assyrian  horses  were  offered  to  them  for  the  purpose. 
Finally  he  asserted,  perhaps  sincerely,  that  Jehovah  had 
given  liim  a  connnission  to  niarcli  against  Jerusalem  and 
destroy  it. 

^701.  At  this  point  the  Judaite  ollicials,  fearing  the 
effect  of  his  adroit  appeals  upon  the  half-hearted  guardians 
of  the  city,  begged  the  legate  not  to  continue  to  speak 
''Judaic,"  but  ''Aramaic,"  with  which  all  diplomatists 
were  familiar  (xviii.  20).  The  Rabshakeh,  feeling  that 
his  connnand  of  the  language  of  the  country  had  given 
him  an  unexpected  power  over  the  natives,  retorted  that 
his  mission  really  was  not  to  the  king  and  nobles,  but  to 
the  common  soldiers,  whose  persistence  in  the  defensive 
would  involve  the  whole  population  in  the  extremest  and 
most  revolting  necessities  of  a  protracted  siege  (v.  27). 
He  then  resumed  his  appeals  in  the  Hebrew  language, 
urging  the  people  not  to  be  deceived  by  Hezekiah  into 
continued  resistance  to  the  Great  King,  but  to  submit  to 
the  terms  of  surrender  offered  by  him,  making  liim  at  the 
same  time  a  substantial  propitiatory  gift  (v.  31,  cf.  2  K. 
v.  15).  They  would  thus  be  allowed  at  least  to  live  upon 
the  products  of  their  own  country,  till  at  the  end  of  the 
whole  campaign  they  would  be  taken  to  another  land  as 
fertile  and  productive  as  their  own.  Otherwise  their  fate 
would  be  sealed,  for  no  god  had  as  yet  been  able  to  deliver 
his  people  out  of  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Assyria.  The 
Syrian  cities  captured  and  destroyed  within  recent  years 
had  appealed  in  vain  to  their  gods  for  deliverance,  and 
Jehovah  would  prove  like  unto  them  (vs.  32-35). 

§  702.  The  harangue  was  listened  to  in  silence ;  and 
with  their  garments  rent,  as  the  symbol  of  woe  and  des- 
peration, Hezekiah's  men  told  their  unhappy  king  the 
ultimatum  of  the  Assyrian.      There  was  but  one  in  'all 


rii.  VI,  §  704 


PROMISE   UK    DKMVKKANCn 


207 


Jeiusalem  to  whom  Ilt'zekiiili  coulil  turn  for  liol[)  —  the 
iiian  whose  saviiijr  counsel  had  been  nefrlocted  hy  kiiiuf 
and  people,  with  llie  result  tiiat  the  kingdom  liad  been  all 
l)ut  destroyed  and  its  utter  destruction  was  now  imi)endin<if. 
The  king  knew  all  along  that  Isaiah  had  tlie  ear  of  Jeliovah, 
and  now  he  begs  of  him  to  intercede  in  behalf  of  "the 
remnant  that  is  left"  (2  K.  xix.  1-5).  Hut  Isaiah  had 
already  received  the  word  of  promise,  and  he  returned 
the  king  the  cheering  answer  that  he  need  not  be  afraid 
of  the  threats  of  the  tyrant,  that  Sinacheril)  would  hear 
something  that  would  send  him  back  to  his  own  land,  and 
that  his  death  should  be  one  of  violence  (vs.  O,  7). 

i^  70o.  The  deliverance  did  not  follow  at  once.  But 
it  linally  came  in  very  unexpected  fashion.  The  legate 
returned  to  report  to  his  master  his  observations  and  the 
effect  of  his  summons.  Meanwhile  Lachish  had  fallen,  and 
Sinacherib's  headquarters  were  transferred  to  the  neighl cur- 
ing town  of  Libnah.  Then  followed  in  quick  succession 
the  Egyptian  incursion  and  defeat,  the  fall  of  Ekron,  and 
the  complete  subjugation  of  the  southwest  of  Palestine. 
To  aid  in  the  conflict  with  the  Egyptians  the  Assyrian 
troops  were  withdrawn  from  Jerusalem ;  but  the  siege 
was  not  abandoned.  An  embassy  was  sent  to  the  Assyrian 
king,  onl}'  to  be  repulsed  (Isa.  xxxiii.  7).  Grief  and  con- 
sternation overwhelmed  Jerusalem,  when  Sinacherib  sent 
a  special  set  of  messengers  with  a  letter  to  Hezekiah,  to 
reinforce  the  demand  of  the  Rabshakeh  for  surrender.  In 
this  the  former  arguments  and  threats  were  substantially 
repeated  (2  K.  xix.  0-13). 

§  70-1.  No  reply  was  made  to  the  message.  Hezekiah 
uttered  a  fervent  prayer  that  Jerusalem  miglit  be  saved 
from  the  hand  of  Sinacherib  (vs.  14-19).  Then  Isaiah 
announced  to  him  in  Jehovah's  name  that  his  prayer  was 
heard:  that  Sinacherib,  who  like  the  other  kings  of 
Assyria  was  only  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  Jehovah 
to  work  his  will  among  the  nations,  would  he  led  back  by 
the  way  he  had  come ;  that  the  now  desolate  country  of 


■« 


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298 


STORIES  OF   THE   CATASTROl'IIE 


Book  VIU 


Jiulah  would  within  two  years  be  restored  to  its  former 
productiveness  and  prosperity,  and  the  remnant  of  Judah 
should  be  preserved.  Sinacherib  should  not  appear  before 
the  city  as  its  besieger,  but  should  return  to  his  own  coun- 
try, leaving  Jerusalnn  intact  (vs.  20-34).  What  might 
now  have  ha[)pened  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events  it  is 
diflieult  to  say.  Probably  Jerusalem  would  soon  have 
surrendered  at  discretion.  Even  with  the  precautions 
above  described  (§  698)  and  the  strong  natural  defences 
of  the  city,  the  princes  were  little  disposed  to  stand  the 
threatened  siege.  Rut  the  fears  of  the  Jerusalemites 
and  the  well-grounded  hopes  of  the  Ass3'rians  were  alike 
disappointed.  The  Hebrew  record  tells  the  story:  "And 
the  angel  of  Jehovah  went  forth  and  smote  in  the  camp  of 
Assyria  one  hundred  and  eighty  and  live  thousand,  and 
wben  people  arose  in  the  morning,  behold,  all  of  those  men 
were  dead  corpses  "  (Isa.  xxxvii.  36  ;  cf.  2  K.  xix.  35, 
2  Chr.  xxxii.  21). 

§  705.  Certain  questions  are  of  prime  interest  in  con- 
nection with  this  account.  We  ask,  in  what  historical 
connection  the  event  occurred,  and  what  was  the  real 
nature  of  the  infliction.  There  is  grave  difficulty  in  these 
questions,  and  they  cannot  be  considered  apart  from  one 
another.  As  contributing  in  some  slight  degree  to  the 
solution,  the  account  of  Herodotus  (H,  141)  may  appro- 
priately be  given  here :  "  After  him  [Sabakon  the  Ethi- 
o[)ian]  a  priest  of  Hephrestus  [i.f.  Ptah]  came  to  the 
throne  whose  name  was  Sethon  [/.f.  Seti].  He  made  the 
military  class  among  the  Egyptians  of  little  account,  and 
ignored  them  as  though  he  were  independent  of  their  aid. 
He  dishonoured  them  in  various  ways,  and  especially  by 
takinof  from  them  their  lands,  which  had  been  l)estowed 
upon  them  in  the  times  of  the  earlier  kings  at  the  rate  of 
twelve  acres  for  each  man.  After  a  time  Sanachaiib,  king 
of  the  iVssyrians  and  Arabians,  led  a  great  army  against 
Egypt.  Then  the  soldiery  refused  to  succour  the  Egv})- 
tians.     The  priest   then,  being  reduced   to  great  straits. 


.  m 


1   COll- 

orical 
real 

these 
one 
the 

)[)ro- 

Ethi- 

the 

the 

and 

aid. 

y  by 

\ved 

to  of 
iiig 
liiibt 

pyp- 

aits, 


Ch.YI,  §707  THE  NARRATIVE  OF  HERODOTUS 


299 


repaired  to  the  temple ;  and  to  the  image  of  his  god  he 
l)e wailed  the  perils  in  which  he  was  involved.  While 
he  was  lamenting,  sleep  fell  upon  him,  and  it  seemed  to 
him  in  vision  as  tliougli  the  god  were  standing  by  him  and 
encouraging  him,  sa^'ing  that  he  would  incur  no  misfort- 
une if  he  marched  against  the  army  of  the  Arabians,  for 
lie  himself  would  sup])ly  him  with  defenders.  Trusting  to 
this  apparition,  he  took  with  him  such  of  the  Egyptians  as 
were  willing  to  follow  him,  and  encamped  in  Pelusium, 
since  this  was  the  key  to  the  country.  But  none  of  the 
warrior  class  would  accompany  him,  only  traders  and  handi- 
craftsmen and  market-i)eople.  After  they  had  arrived 
there,  an  army  of  lield-miee  fairly  inundated  their  ene- 
mies in  the  niglit  time,  gnawing  apart  their  quivers,  their 
bows,  and  their  shield-straps,  so  that  on  the  following  day, 
Ijeing  deprived  of  tlieir  weapons,  they  were  put  to  flight, 
and  many  of  them  fell.  And  this  king,  imaged  in  stone, 
still  stands  in  the  teni[)le  of  Ilepluestus,  holding  in  his 
liand  a  mouse,  and  liearing  an  inscription  which  says: 
'Let  him  who  loofs  upon  me  fear  the  gods.'" 

sj  TOiI.  This  extract  from  the  garrulous  Greek  traveller 
illustrates  extremely  well  the  growth  of  legend  and  myth 
out  of  an  event  of  national  importance  in  a  superstitious  age. 
P)Ut  the  substratum  of  fact  in  the  storv  is  evident  enonoh. 
The  line  spelling  of  the  name  of  the  invading  king,  his 
nationality,  the  vivid  recollection  of  a  great  deliverance, 
and  the  survival  of  the  commemorative  monument,  all 
attest  the  reality  of  tlie  invasion  as  well  as  its  sudden  and 
apparently  supernatural  rcpulst;.  That  Arabians  are  men- 
tioned along  with  Assyrians  is  not  due,  as  has  been  sup- 
posed, to  the  circumstance  that  large  numbers  of  Aiab 
nomads  had  made  a  settlement  among  the  Ha))ylonians. 
It  rather  [)oints  to  an  impressment  by  Sinaeherib  of  Ara- 
bian auxiliaries  into  his  service  (cf.  §  7<I8). 

§  707.  The  calamity  which  led  to  the  retreat  is  natu- 
rally regarded  as  having  Ijern  an  attack  of  pestilence. 
Infectious   diseases   destroy   life   more   rapidly  than   any 


I 

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1 

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t  ..t 


;  ,   4 

(if 


300 


THE    I'LAGUE   AND    IIS    LOCALITY 


Book  VIII 


! 


otlier  scourge  of  the  race  except  war,  of  which  the}'  are 
often  the  consequence  (Amos  iv.  10).  They  are  also 
ascribed  specially  to  the  intervention  of  the  "angel  of 
Jehovah"  (2  Sam.  xxiv.  15  ff. ;  1  Chr.  xxi.  12).  The 
number  destroyed  is  indeed  great ;  but  it  has  been  equalled 
and  surpassed  l)y  other  historic  plagues.  It  is,  moreover, 
not  certain,  to  the  present  writer  at  least,  whether  the 
number  was  not  originally  written  5180.  In  the  text  of 
Kinos  it  is  said  that  "  the  '  angel  of  Jehovah '  went  forth 
that  night:"  but  the  word  "that"  is  not  found  in  the  Sep- 
tuagint,  while  all  reference  to  the  night  generally  is  ex- 
cluded from  both  Isaiah  and  Chronicles.  It  would  really 
appear  as  though  the  idea  of  a  nocturnal  visitation  had 
Ijecn  suggested  to  some  late  editor,  as  in  the  Egyptian  story, 
by  the  wide-spread  belief  of  the  people  of  the  East  that 
destructive  supernatural  agencies  generally,  and  especially 


demons  of  disease,  are  busiest  at  night.  At  any  rate, 
it  is  clear  that  we  need  not  assume  that  the  loss  of  the 
Assyrians  was  suffered  in  a  single  night.  It  should  also  be 
mentioned  that  in  the  version  of  the  affair  given  by  Herod- 
otus, the  mice  which  gnawed  the  bowstrings  of  the  "Assyr- 
ians and  Arabians"  are  the  popular  prosaic  working  out 
of  the  fact  that  the  mouse  is  a  symbol  of  pestilence  (1  Sam. 
vi.  4  f.  ).i 

§  708.  As  to  the  locality,  there  is  strong  antecedent 
probal)ility  against  Jerusalem  or  the  neighbourhood.  Much 
more  likely  is  it  to  have  been  the  region  indicated  by 
Herodotus.  It  is  perhaps  not  without  significance  that 
the  country  about  Pelusium,  the  district  in  question,  has 
always  been  notorious  foi-  the  deadly  miasma  arising  from 
its  bogs  and  marshes.  There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever 
that  Sinaclieril/s  ultimate  aim,  like  that  of  his  successors, 
Avas  to  gain  possession  of  Egypt,  the  great  goal  of  As- 
syrian and  Babylonian  conquest.  It  was  therefore  ([uite 
natural  that,  after  the  fall  of  Ekron,  he  should  seek  to 
follow  up  his  victory  at  Elteke  and  the  capture  of  Lachish 


1  See  Note  lo  in  Appendix. 


rm^imr^^mm^ 


Tl 


Cii.VI,  §709     SUMAFARY   OF   THE   LATEU    EVENTS 


301 


by  an  invasion  of  Egypt,  and  at  the  same  time  secure  his 
rear  by  taking  and  occupying  Jerusalem.  Moreover,  the 
Egyptian  legend  means  nothing  if  it  does  not  imply  that 
an  invasion  of  the  country  by  Sinacherib  had  actually 
been  undertaken.  Further,  it  is  certain  that  the  Assyrians 
carrie<l  on  war  at  this  time  in  Arabia  beyond  what  is  re- 
corded either  in  Sinacherib's  own  annals  or  in  the  Hebrew 
records.  Esarhaddon  relates  (see  §  755)  that  Hazael,  a  king 
of  the  Arab  country,  whose  fortress  Adumu  had  been  taken 
by  Sinacherib,  came  to  him  to  Nineveh  to  beg  back  from 
him  his  ancestral  gods.  This  circumstance  indicates  that 
the  operations  of  the  Assyrians  in  this  campaign  were  not 
by  any  means  confined  to  Palestine.  Finally,  it  is  unmis- 
takably implied  in  the  oracle  of  Isaiah  (xxxvii.  25)  that 
Sinacherib  contemplated  the  conquest  of  Egypt.  The 
words  are  here  put  into  his  mouth:  "With  the  sole  of  my 
foot  I  will  dry  up  all  the  channels  of  Egypt."  He  regarded 
the  arms  of  the  Nile  and  the  canals  of  the  Delta  as  being 
already  crossed  by  his  army  as  though  they  were  dry  land  — 
so  sure  was  he  of  an  immediate  triumph  in  Egypt. 

j^  709.  The  occurrences  after  the  taking  of  Ekron  may 
now  be  summarized  as  follows :  The  siege  of  Lachish  was 
brought  to  a  conclusion,  and  Libnah  was  also  captured. 
By  this  means  Sinacherib  felt  secure  against  any  effort  on 
the  part  of  Judah  to  combine  with  its  Egyptian  allies. 
He  lioped  also  to  make  an  end  of  Judaite  independence. 
But  as  he  could  not  spare  a  large  Ixidy  of  troops  from  his 
projected  expedition,  lie  sent  his  legate  with  a  small  guard, 
expecting  that  .lerusalem  would  be  terrified  into  surrender. 
Meanwhile  he  made  incursions  into  Arabia,  and  put  oil" 
the  attack  on  Jerusalem,  intimidated  and  helpless  as  it 
was,  till  after  lie  should  have  had  his  triumph  over  the 
Egyptians.  This  he  now  proceeded  to  secure.  But  in  the 
neighliourhood  of  Pelusium  his  army  was  attacked  by  pesti- 
lence ;  and  the  far  inferior  troops  of  the  prince  of  the  Delta 
awaiting  him  at  the  border,  were  encouraged  to  advance 
upon  the  invaders,  who  thought  it  best  to  beat  a  retreat. 


^ 

1 

it 

1 

[ 

i 

V 

■'Tl 

,;- 

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Ip  ' 


(         i  I 


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iv 


302 


THE  PROPHETIC   ATTITUDE 


Book  VIII 


About  the  same  time  he  heard  news  of  disturbances  in  the 
far  east.  This  report  (cf.  Isa.  xxxvii.  7),  combined  with 
the  decimation  of  his  army  by  the  plague,  led  him  to  march 
by  the  speediest  route  along  the  coast  and  back  to  Nineveh. 
Thus  not  only  Egypt,  but  Jerusalem  was  rescued.^ 

§  710.  The  campaign  of  Sinacherib  in  Palestine, 
fraught  as  it  was  Avith  the  most  fateful  issues  for  the  king- 
dom and  people  of  Jehovah,  evoked  in  its  various  stages 
the  prophetic  voices  in  extraordinary  profusion.  The 
crowning  proclamation  of  deliverance  in  the  supreme  mo- 
ment of  danger  and  dread  (§  702,  704)  marked  the  climax 
of  Isaiah's  career.  It  vindicated,  in  a  manner  unexampled 
in  all  Israelitish  history,  the  Prophet's  twofold  claim  and 
function,  to  be  the  accredited  commissioner  of  Jehovah 
and  the  true  guide  and  guardian  of  his  people.  This 
utterance,  so  confident  and  at  the  same  time  so  specific 
and  unambiguous  in  disposing  of  the  most  urgent  practical 
issues  that  had  ever  emerged  in  the  history  of  Judah, 
needs  no  comment  to  show  its  applicability  to  the  condi- 
tions of  the  time.  But  there  are  a  considerable  number 
of  other  prophecies,  which  aim  to  use  the  circumstances  of 
this  season  of  trial  as  occasions  "for  teaching,  for  con- 
vincing, for  direction,  for  training  in  righteousness "  (2 
Tim.  iii.  16).  Their  connection  with  the  era  of  Assyrian 
invasion,  though  easily  pointed  out,  is  not  always  specifi- 
cally indicated. 

§  711.  The  prophetic  event  that  came  last  under  our 
review  was  the  symbolical  act  with  its  commentary  recorded 
in  Isa.  XX.  (§  658  f.).  BetAveen  the  end  of  the  three  years, 
during  which  the  humiliation  of  Eg3^pt  was  enacted  before 
the  men  of  Jerusalem  for  a  warning  against  the  cherished 
alliance  (v.  3  f.),  and  the  time  of  the  next  extant  prophecy, 
there  occurred  the  accession  of  Sinacherib,  followed  by 
the  agitation  among  the  Western  peoples  which  precipi- 
tated upon  them  the  descent  of  the  Assyrian  army.  During 
the  time  of  negotiation  and  growing  disaffection  (§  652  ff.), 


1  Set'  Note  14  in  Appendix. 


' 


Cii.  VI,  §  713 


A  GROUP  OF  PROPHECIES 


303 


Isaiah  uttered  a  striking  series  of  propheci  ;,  of  which  we 
have  a  carefully  edited  summary  in  ch.  xxix.-xxxii.  A 
leading  note  of  this  group  is  the  certain  calamitous  result 
of  leaning  upon  Egypt.  .In  so  far  the  utterances  in  ques- 
tion are  the  natural  sec^uel  and  development  of  tlie  line  of 
address  pursued  in  ch.  xviii.-xx.  But  here  these  results 
are  clearly  foreseen ;  and  while  shown  to  be  the  inevitable 
consequences  of  a  false  and  foolisli  policy,  they  are  traced 
plainly  and  faithfully  to  their  ultimate  roots  in  the  sins  of 
the  people.  The  two  middle  chapters  of  the  group  (xxx., 
xxxi.)  are  characterized  b}'  plainness  of  speech  and  specific 
allusions  to  definite  events.  The  first  of  the  series  and  the 
last  (xxix.,  xxxii.)  abound  in  mystical  lore,  and  in  allu- 
sions, more  or  less  thinly  veiled,  both  to  the  impending  dis- 
tress and  the  future  deliverance. 

§  712.  In  ch.  xxix.,  Jerusalem,  symbolized  by  the  pet 
name  "  Ariel "  or  "  God's  Lion,"  is  warned  that  after  a 
calendar  year  (marked  by  the  regular  "  feasts  ")  had  gone 
round,  it  would  be  encompassed  by  a  besieging  army 
drawn  from  many  nations.  It  should  be  brouglit  near  to 
utter  extinction,  so  near  that  its  once  vigorous  and  flourish- 
ing life  is  compared  to  that  of  a  jibbering  ghost  (xxix.  1-4). 
And  yet  the  multitude  of  the  foes  that  hunger  and  thirst 
to  possess  Jerusalem  should  be  baffled.  They  are  to  be 
rudely  awakened  out  of  their  dreams  of  conquest  and 
spoliation,  while  already  gloating  over  their  expected  prey ; 
and  are  to  vanish  from  about  her  as  a  vision  of  the  night. 
For  Jehovah  will  come  "with  thunder  and  witli  earth- 
quake, and  mighty  noise,  with  whirlwind  and  tempest, 
and  the  flame  of  devouring  fire,"  so  that  like  fine  dust 
and  chaff  they  sliall  be  swept  away  utterly,  and  in  a 
moment  (xxix.  0-8). 

§  713.  Hut  the  prophet  feels  that  this  revelation  is 
unintelligible  to  his  hearers.  Even  the  spiritual  guides 
of  the  people  are  blind  to  his  teaching,  and  stumble  about 
helplessly,  with  a  worse  than  physical  intoxication  (cf. 
xxviii.  7).     All  true  disclosures  of  Jehovah's  will  are  to 


1     :    ■.' 


!       I 


I 


304 


ISAIAH  XXIX 


Book  VIII 


I  i 


them  as  a  sealed  book  (cf.  Rev.  v.  2),  which  even  the 
educated  cannot  read,  much  less  the  uninitiated  multitude 
(xxix.  9-12).  The  explanation  is  that  their  habit  of  mere 
ceremonial  and  lip  worship  has  estrayed  their  "heart"  or 
spiritual  faculty  from  God,  and  led  them  to  substitute 
empty  traditional  formularies  for  the  spontaneous  worship 
of  the  soul  (xxix.  13).  For  this  j-eason  not  only  was  the 
"  vision  "  strange,  but  the  "  work  "  of  Jehovah,  or  the  fur- 
ther manifestation  of  his  will  in  their  own  history,  must 
continue  to  be  "wonderful"  or  inexplicable  to  them  (xxix. 
14).  The  infatuated  leaders  of  the  people  have  a  work 
and  plan  of  their  own.  Ignoring  the  divinely  autlienti- 
oatjd  counsel,  they  develop  for  themselves  a  characteristic 
poi;  '-.  And  as  it  runs  counter  to  the  will  of  Jehovah, 
tiKn  V  wl  it  necessary  to  work  in  the  dark,  and  to  conceal 
their  plans  from  the  prophet  under  the  vain  persuasion 
t)r;t  they  llrv  escape  the  scrutiny  of  God  himself.  They 
thereby  revenl  aw  mheard-of  degree  of  audacity  as  well  as 
of  stupid  perversity  (xxix.  15-1(5). 

§  714.  But  such  insensate  dulness  and  blindness  shall 
not  continue  to  prevail.  At  least  the  poor  and  humble, 
misguided  and  defrauded  as  they  have  been,  shall  be  disen- 
chanted and  inwardly  illumined.  Deaf  ears  shall  be  un- 
stopped to  hear  and  blind  eyes  opened  to  see  the  word  of 
Jehovah's  messenger  recorded  for  their  enlightenment. 
Thus  a  spiritual  transformation  shall  take  place  which 
sliall  transmute  the  uncultivated  Lebanon  of  their  minds 
and  hearts  into  a  fruitful  field  of  knowledge  and  joy.  On 
the  other  hand  what  now  seems  a  fruitful  field  shall  be 
turned  into  a  forest.  It  shall  be  at  the  expense  of  the 
oppressors  without  and  the  mockers  within  the  community, 
of  the  pettifogging  word-twister,  and  the  crafty  corrupter 
and  perverter  of  judgment,  all  of  whom  shall  vanish  and 
be  no  more  (xxix.  17-21).  He  who  redeemed  Abraham 
shall  not  leave  Israel  to  shame  and  humiliation.  His  work 
of  regeneration,  manifested  among  the  chosen  sons  of  God, 
shall  win  over  his  people  to  worship  and  reverential  awe. 


Cii.  VI,  §  710    THE  SECOND  OF  THE  GROUP 


305 


or 


Thus  shall  misguided  souls  rightly  discern  the  truth ;  and 
querulous  doubters  shall  meekly  accept  instruction  (xxix. 
22-'24). 

§  715.  The  second  of  tliis  group  of  discourses  indicates 
plainly  the  practical  ground  of  complaint  against  the 
opponents  of  Isaiah  —  the  policy  of  the  Egyptian  party 
which  was  leading  the  people  of  Judah  to  "shame  and 
confusion  and  sudden  destruction."  The  "  woe "  that 
was  denounced  in  ch.  xxix.  15  against  those  who  con- 
cealed their  workings  from  Jehovah  and  his  prophet,  is 
here  invoked  (ch.  xxx.  1)  against  Jehovah's  "unruly 
children."  Tlie  ground  of  the  infliction  is  that  they  had 
adopted  an  active  policy,  and  woven  a  web  of  inter- 
national complications,  without  seeking  counsel  and  in- 
spiration from  liim.  They  were  cementing  an  alliance 
with  Egypt,  and  in  order  to  secure  its  ratification  were 
sending  ambassadors  of  princely  rank  to  the  capitals  of 
petty  kingdoms  in  the  Delta.  These,  then,  should  reap 
no  prolit  from  their  mission,  but  only  shame  and  reproacli. 
Nay  further :  in  their  insane  desire  to  secure  the  favour  of 
the  empire  of  the  Nile,  they  send  presents  of  their  richest 
treasures  upon  heavily  laden  beasts  of  burden,  through  re- 
gions infested  by  ravenous  beasts  and  deadly  serpents,  on  to 
the  Ethiopian  capital  (§  347).  Even  this  laborious  self- 
abasement  should  be  without  result.  "For,"  the  Prophet 
says,  "Egypt's  lielp  is  vanity  and  emptiness,  therefore  I 
have  called  lier  '  Rahab  the  Do-nothing'"  (xxx.  1-7).' 

§  716.  The  Prophet  is  bidden  to  post  up  this  senten- 
tious word-picture  in  a  conspicuous  place  for  tlie  l)enefit 
of  contemporaries,  and  to  record  it  in  his  roll  as  a  testi- 
mony for  future  ages.  For  the  infatuation  of  Judali  witli 
the  idea  of  Egyptian  protection  is  inveterate.  And  the 
repugnance  of  the  rebellious,  deceitful  people  of  Jehovah 
to  hear  anything  but  agreeable  and  congenial  oracles  from 
Him,  or  even  to  tolerate  his  moral  government  is  incorrigi- 
ble (xxx.  8-11).     But  their  despite  of  his  word,  and  their 


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ISAIAH   XXX 


Book  VIII 


i  ; 


•  .  I 


trust  in  crookedness  and  perverseness,  give  them  only  a 
fancied  security;  their  iniquity  of  itself  has  made  a  flaw- 
in  their  defences,  which  shall  soon  end  in  a  complete  and 
sudden  collapse,  and  a  deadly  breach  for  the  entrance  of 
their  enemies.  Their  destruction  then  will  be  like  that 
of  a  potter's  vessel  when  no  fragment  is  found  large 
enough  to  carry  a  live  coal  or  liold  a  sup  of  water  (xxx. 
12-14).  (iod  had  given  them  often  enough  the  saving 
counsel;  "through  returning  and  resting  ye  shall  get  de- 
liverance ;  in  quiescence  and  trust  shall  be  your  strengtli," 
bat  they  did  not  care  to  listen.  They  said,  ''No;  we  will 
fly  on  horses  and  ride  on  swift  steeds."  But  their  only 
chance  to  show  their  swiftness  will  be  to  flee  l)efore 
swifter  pursuers,  a  liandful  of  whom  will  put  a  thousand 
to  rout.  In  the  country  thus  shorn  of  its  people,  what 
was  once  a  tree  of  the  forest  surrounded  by  countless 
companions,  shall  become  a  beacon  pole  alone  upon  the 
liills,  a  warning  instead  of  a  defence  (xxx.  15-17). 

§  717.  These  threatenings  are,  however,  in  large  part 
conditional,  depending  on  the  attitude  of  the  people 
when  the  work  of  destruction  has  begun.  Therefore, 
.Jehovah  will  wait  before  striking  the  final  blow,  listen- 
ing for  the  cry  of  his  rebellious  but  penitent  children. 
Just  because  he  is  "  a  God  who  sets  things  right,"  ^  those 
who  wait  for  him  receive  a  blessincr  that  comes  through 
his  grace  and  mercy,  and  to  those  who  dwell  in  Zion,  his 
chosen  abode,  is  promised  an  end  of  sorrow  and  weeping 
(xxx.  18,  19).  But  such  a  deliverance  is  not  to  be  vouch- 
safed as  a  capricious  or  arbitrary  boon.  The  "  bread  of 
adversity  and  water  of  affliction  "  (cf.  the  sarcasm  of  the 
Rabshakeh,  xxxvi.  12)  are  to  have  their  divinely  ap- 
pointed uses.  Ministers  of  Jehovah,  long  neglected  and 
mute,  are  to  be  welcomed  to  the  seat  of  public  instruc- 
tion, and  be  looked  up  to  as  the  true  guides  of  the  nation. 
The  people  shall  there  be  directed  infallibly  as  to  the 
straight,  sure  path  of  national  honour  and  duty.     Another 


^■1  :    't    I 


1  See  note  to  §  457. 


1    i 


t'li.  VI,  §  718 


ISAIAH    XXX 


307 


sure  consequence  will  be  that  the  false  worship  of  Jeho- 
vah will  be  wholly  forsworn,  and  the  richly  gilded  and 
silvered  images  be  tlung  away  with  loathing  and  CDn- 
tunipt  (xxx.  20-2-).  This  religious  transformation  sliall 
have  its  accom[)aninient  and  counterpart  in  the  prosperity 
of  the  country,  whose  languishing  industries,  especially 
agriculture  and  its  prerequisite  irrigation,  shall  tlourish 
again  after  the  repulse  of  the  Assyrian  invadeis  and  the 
tumbling  down  of  the  discredited  bulwarks  c)f  national 
defence.  And  then  when  Jehovah  has  Ijound  uj)  his 
people's  wounds,  and  healed  the  contusions  and  bruises 
of  the  state  (cf.  i.  5),  the  now  regenerated  land  shall  Ije 
so  full  of  hope  and  gladness  that  its  condition,  as  com- 
jmred  with  the  present  gloom,  shall  be  as  the  brightness 
of  the  sun  to  that  of  the  moon,  or  like  the  sjjlendour  of 
the  sun  raised  to  a  sevenfold  brilliancy  (xxx.  20-26). 

§  718.  This  vision  of  a  glory  for  Zion  truly  Messianic 
does  not,  however,  da/zle  the  eyes  of  the  I'lopliet.  but 
rather  reveals  to  him  more  clearly  the  doom  that  must  fust 
be  fulfilled  by  the  foes  of  Israel.  The  catastrophe  is 
brought  on  by  the  appearing  of  the  self-revealing  Clod  (''the 
name  of  Jehovah"),  accompanied  by  those  sympathetic 
commotions  in  the  material  world  which  the  Hebrew  seers 
and  poets  habitually  represent  as  part  of  the  pomp  and 
terror  of  the  vengeful  Deity  intervening  on  behalf  of  his 
chosen  (cf.  Ps.  xviii. ;  li. ;  ]Mic.  i. ;  Hab.  iii.,  etc.).  In  the 
lire  and  smoke  which  are  tlie  outbreathings  of  his  wrath,  he 
sweeps  along  like  an  overwhelming  torrent,  that  makes  the 
victims  surge  to  and  fro  till  they  perish  from  exhaustion. 
At  the  same  time  they  lose  their  way  in  the  confusion,  like 
wild  beasts  that  are  forced  out  of  their  accustomed  haunts 
(cf.  xxxvii.  29;  Ezek.  xix.  4)  by  the  hunter's  bridle  (xxx. 
27,  28).  At  this  there  is  the  sound  of  rejoicing  among  the 
redeemed  of  Jehovah,  as  free  and  gladsome  as  that  which 
is  heard  in  the  nightly  celel)ration  of  some  great  festival,  or 
as  the  music  of  the  pipe,  to  whose  strains  pilgrims  wend 
their  way  to  greet  the  Rock  of  Israel  in  Zion  (xxx.  29). 


U 


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ISAIAH   XXX,    XXXI 


Book  VIII 


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In  iiwful  contrast  to  this  joyful  interlude  is  heard  the 
august  voice  of  Jehovah  in  the  thunder,  and  the  stroke  of 
his  arm  in  the  lio'htninsf.^  The  strife  and  rush  and  tunuilt 
of  the  contending  elements :  the  darting  llame,  the  riven 
storm-cloud,  the  pouring  rain,  and  the  driving  hail,  enhance 
the  terrors  and  grandeur  of  the  sublime  theoi)hany.  As 
peal  follows  peal  and  stroke  follows  stroke,  lighting  upon 
the  devoted  Assyrian,  the  sound  of  the  timbrel  and  the  lute 
is  heard  in  the  camp  of  Israel  in  chorus  with  the  surging 
din  of  Jehovah's  battle  (xxx.  30-32).  Again  the  image  of 
destruction  is  changed,  liut  the  horror  is  only  the  more 
intensified,  because  the  figure  is  one  more  hideously  famil- 
iar to  the  hearers.  Instead  of  celestial  flame  and  smoke  it 
is  the  lurid  fires  and  stifling  vapours  of  Tophet  that  are  pre- 
sented as  the  agent  of  the  Assyrian's  doom.  It  is  no  longer 
a  battle,  but  an  immolation.  The  pile  made  high  and  broad 
has  long  been  prepared  for  a  worth}^  victim.  It  is  the  Great 
King  himself  that  is  to  be  offered.  And  it  is  the  wrath  of 
Jehovah,  like  a  stream  of  brimstone,  that  kindles  the  pyre 
(xxx.  33). 

§  719.  Again  the  Prophet  turns  in  indignation  against 
the  obnoxious  party  in  the  state.  With  lack  of  faith  and 
lack  of  insight  at  once,  they  persist  in  going  down  to  Egypt 
for  help  and  staying  themselves  upon  horses  and  chariots 
because  these  are  many  and  strong.  This  policy  of  theii's 
is  self-destructive,  notably  because  the  Egyptians  were 
unreliable  allies,  but  especially  because,  at  the  best,  they 
could  render  only  material  defence.  Along  with  those 
who  ha\  '^  vainly  sought  their  help  they  shall  stumble  and 
fall,  and  that  by  the  outstretched  arm  of  "  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel,"  whom  they  have  ignored  and  defied  (xxxi.  1-3). 
In  contrast  to  such  defenders  the  figure  of  Jehovah  of  hosts 
towers  larger  and  more  portentous  than  ever  in  the  pro- 
[)hetic  vision  as  the  true  protector  of  his  city  and  his  people. 
In  an  image  such  as  Homer  had  already  employed,^  and 
which  the   Old   Testament  prophets  delight  to  use,  the 


1  Cf.  Shelley's  "Cloud. 


■i  Iliad  xii.  299  ff. ;  xviii.  161  f. 


n' 


Cu.  VI,  §  720 


ISAIAH   XXXI,   XXXII 


:]0f) 


champion  of  Jerusaleni  is  represented  as  a  lion  guarding 
liis  prey  fiom  a  band  of  ballled  shepherds,  whose  only 
weapon  is  their  incessant  and  impotent  shouting.'  And, 
more  expressive  still,  lie  appears  as  an  eagle  flitting  to  and 
fro  over  the  threatened  nest,  darting  down  upon  and  beat- 
ing off  all  intruders  and  assailants.  Thus  shall  Jehovah 
take  his  stand  upon  tlie  heights  of  Zion  to  do  battle  for  his 
own  (xxxi.  4  f.).  With  another  .sudden  but  very  natural 
turn  of  thought,  Israel  is  adjured  to  give  its  allegiance 
once  more  to  its  own  faithful  and  devoted  ])roteetor.  With 
swiftest  glance  the  prophet's  eye  runs  along  the  eventful 
days,  till  it  pauses  in  view  of  two  much-desired  consum- 
mations. On  the  one  hand  the  false  gods  of  Israel  are 
cast  down  as  a  manifest  delusion  and  snare ;  on  the  other, 
the  Assyrian  is  overthrown  by  the  sword,  not  of  man,  but 
of  God  (xxxi.  6-9). 

§  720.  Still  farther  sweeps  on  the  prevision  and  brighter 
trrows  the  ever-recediufj  horizon.  Jehovah  will  at  lencrth 
rule  through  a  king  whose  watchwords  shall  be  "  righteous- 
ness and  justice  "  (xxxii.  1).  The  Holy  City  was  not  to 
be  saved  from  imminent  destruction  that  it  should  become 
again  as  of  yore  the  victim  and  haunt  of  those  judicial 
and  governmental  evils  that  were  the  most  noxious  ele- 
ments of  its  social  and  domestic  life  (§  593  ff.,  <')03  f.). 
Freedom  from  merely  material  destruction  was  neither  the 
aspiration  of  the  Prophet  nor  tlie  purpose  of  Jehovah.  If 
this  were  all  that  Isaiah  strove  and  prayed  for,  his  protest 
against  the  league  with  Egy})t  would  lose  half  its  mean- 
ing; for  its  motive  was  to  disclaim  the  idea  of  a  deliver- 
ance to  be  wrought  by  the  policy  of  those  whose  character 

'  The  "prey  "  of  the  lion  is  only  mentioned  here  as  sonietliinu  which 
he  sets  himself  to  guard  and  jirotect  ai,'ainst  all  comers.  There  is  here  no 
indication  that  Jehovah  makes  a  jirey  of  those  whom  he  thus  drfcnds,  as 
though  the  people  of  .Terusalem  were  first  to  be  punished  by  his  judgments 
before  being  shielded  by  his  care.  Much  less  are  we  "to  be  reminded 
how  grim  and  cruel  He  must  sometimes  appear  even  in  His  saving  provi- 
dences" (G.  A.  Smith,  Lsniah  I.  243).  Such  a  mixing  of  figures  implies 
very  uuprophetic  and  unpoetic  subtlety. 


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ISAIAH    XXXII 


Book  VIII 


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and  iiclioiis  wore  bringing  Joliovali's  rolir^ioii  into  contempt 
and  ni't^leet.  No  :  it  was  a  reformed  relioious  serviee,  and 
a  re^L,^enerated  soeiety,  that  he  hoped  to  see  emerge  from 
the  imjiending  fiery  trial.  A  true  "  man,"  wliose  mission 
it  was  both  to  protect  and  to  comfort,  woukl  shiehl  the 
harassed  and  weary  from  the  storms  of  op[)ression  ^ 
the  bui-ning  heat  of  adversity  (xxxii.  2).  The  dispei  a 
of  justice,  once  blinded  through  pi'cjudice  or  passion  (of. 
xi.  2  f. ;  xxix.  10),  should  then  discern  clearly  and  decide 
impartially  for  the  riglit,  with  neither  blundering  precipi- 
tation nor  halting  uncertainty  (xxxii.  3  f.).  Men  would 
appear  as  they  really  were  to  the  newly  awakened  moral 
sense  of  the  community.  The  hollow-hearted  reprobate 
and  the  crafty  rogue  should  no  more  practise  their  knavery 
and  charlatanism  with  impunity.  Their  pernicious  charac- 
ter should  stand  unmasked,  and  their  impositions  upon  the 
needy  and  defenceless  should  cease,  just  as  the  noble- 
hearted  friend  of  the  people  would  be  honoured  and  con- 
tinue his  beneficent  work  with  the  backing  of  pv' 
opinion  (xxxii.  5-8). 

§  721.  Again  the  dark  and  disheartening  present  thrusts 
itself  upon  the  Prophet's  view.  If  there  was  one  thing 
more  hopeless  than  another  in  the  condition  of  the  society 
of  the  capital,  it  was  the  self-indulgence  and  luxuriousness 
of  its  Avomen  of  fashion  (§  271,  590).  The  thought,  or 
perhaps  the  sight,  of  them  stirs  him  up  to  bitter  upbraiding 
and  a  definite  announcement  of  the  coming  judgment. 
Remembering  that  their  means  for  self-indulgence  were 
drawn  from  the  ill-requited  toil  of  the  suffering  poor,  his 
disgust  at  their  heartless  indifference  rises  to  uncontrolla- 
ble indignation.  The  careless,  irresponsible  gayety  of  idle, 
frivolous,  pampered  women  is  one  of  the  most  exasperat- 
ing and  discouraging  symptoms  of  any  civilized  society; 
and  to  a  reformer  of  the  insijiht  and  moral  earnestness  of 
Isaiah,  such  a  spectacle  at  such  a  time  was  more  than 
could  be  calmly  endured.  And  now  the  seer,  as  once 
before  when  moved   to  prophecy  by  the  thought  of  the 


I'ii  ill* 


^ 


Cii.  VI.  §  722 


ISAIAH    XXXII 


311 


extiiiviigauco  of  the  ladies  of  Jerusalem  (iii.  IGif.),  si)eak.s 
out  what  he  has  seen  with  the  inward  siyht.  What  faie 
so  littiug  for  that  whole  class  of  votaries  of  pleasure  and 
(It'spisers  of  Jehovah  and  his  ;)0or  ones,  as  tlu;  drying  up 
of  the  source  of  sup^jly,  the  desolation  of  that  very  soil 
which  had  yieltled  its  choicest  fruits  for  their  selfish  enjoy- 
ment ?  A  sudden  plunge  is  to  he  made  from  giddy  revehy 
to  sore  privation.  "  For  a  year  and  more,"  '  the  people  of 
the  land  have  to  suhsist  as  best  they  can  without  a  harvest 
or  vintage.  The  fields  and  the  crops  standing  and  garnered 
are  to  be  ravaged,  and  in  the  capital  itself,  destitute  and 
terror-stricken,  the  d.n  and  bustle  of  stirring  life  will  be 
hushed.  Thorns  and  briers  will  grow  up  everywhere,  and 
flocks  will  be  pastured  beside  the  watch-towers  and  the 
Temple  hill  (xxxii.  0-14).  The  punishment,  to  be  sure, 
is  not  to  preclude  the  ultimate  regeneration.  The  renew- 
ing spirit  of  Jehovah  will  again  cloth'  the  land  with  verd- 
ure and  the  promise  of  harvest,  and  (piietness  and  security 
against  every  foe  will  follow  the  enthronement  of  right- 
eousness and  justice  (xxxii.  15-18).  Only  the  judgment 
nuist  first  come;  and  happy  are  those  who  in  faith  and 
confidence  abide  the  visitation  and  are  permitted  to  enter 
into  the  work  of  cultivating  the  renovated  well-watered 
land  and  to  enjoy  its  productiveness  (xxxii.  19  f.). 

§  722.  Such  reflections  and  forecasts  of  the  great 
Prophet,  in  view  of  the  expected  Assyrian  invasion,  were 
uttered  after  the  understanding  between  Ilezekiah  and 
Merodach-baladan  ( §  079 ;  cf.  ^  037)  and  the  negotiations 
between  the  court  party  in  Jerusalem  and  Figy[»t  (>^  t')7S, 
697)  and  the  Judaite  intervention  in  Ekron  (s^  002)  had 


'  Literally  :  "(laysbi'VoiKlaycar."  'riiisiilira>ii'  is  imt  tube  explained  by 
xxix.  1,  since  the  terms  are  not  at  all  anali^ndus.  We  have  ti)  compare  with 
xxxvii.  30,  where  it  is  said  that  the  ploiighiui,' and  seedinu'wmiM.  nu  accmnit 
of  the  devastation  by  tlie  Assyrians,  be  suspended  not  only  duriim  the  cur- 
rent, but  also  during  the  comin.u'  year,  when  all  that  would  spring  up  would 
be  the  product  of  chance  droppings  h\nn  the  preceding  harvest .  In  the  third 
year  agricultural  operations  would  lie  fully  resumed.  Tliat  is  to  say,  tlie 
fallow  time  would  be  a  part  of  two  years  or  "days  beyond  a  year." 


I' 


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M 


312 


TWO  CROWNING   PROPHECIES 


Book  VIII 


■t 


II' w 


given  his  country  a  leading  place  in  the  revolt  of  the  West- 
land,  and  made  it  plain  that  Judah  and  Jerusalem  would 
have  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  invader's  assaults.  These 
utterances  bring  us  near  the  close  of  702  B.C.  Cli.  xxii., 
wliose  contents  are  of  more  historical  than  of  "pro[)het- 
ieal "  significance,  has  been  already  fully  considered 
(§  GOT  f.).  According  to  it  the  Assyrian  troops  are 
now  encamped  before  the  city  (701  B.C.).  The  Egyptian 
policy  and  party  in  Jerusalem  receive  their  death-blow  in 
tliis  sui[trising  but  characteristic  outburst.  With  it,  how- 
ever, we  do  not  come  to  the  end  of  the  Prophet's  disccurses. 
It  stands  in  point  of  lime  between  two  others,  which  illus- 
trate most  completely  both  the  versatile  and  soaring  genius 
of  Isaiah  and  the  order  and  process  of  Providcijce  and 
Revelation.  I  refer  to  ch.  x.  5-xii.  6,  and  to  ch.  xxxiii.  To 
the  former  of  these  deliverances  allusion  has  already  been 
made.  Tliat  the  situation  here  presented  corresponds 
rather  to  the  invasion  of  Sinacherib  tlian  to  the  hurried 
march  of  Sargon  has  been  already  shown  (§  633,  087)  ; 
and  its  internal  character  fully  bears  out  the  same  conclu- 
sion. For  example,  the  Prophet  puts  a  boastful  harangue 
into  the  mouth  of  the  invading  king  as  he  approaches 
Jerusalem  (x.  8  If.),  and  it  differs  only  slightly  from 
the  language  actually  i^sed  by  the  Rabshakeh  when  sum- 
moning the  city  to  surrender  (1  K.  xviii.  33  ff.).  Such 
terms  were  not  suitable  to  any  Assyrian  aggressor  in 
Judah  before  the  time  of  Sinacherib.  Observe  also  that 
"Jerusalem"  is  the  objective  jtoint  of  attack  (v.  10  f.), 
wliich  was  out  of  the  question  for  any  expedition  of 
Sargon. 

v5  723.  In  this  magnificent  discourse  Isaiah  gives  the 
key  to  the  interpretation  of  Oriental  history.  To  him 
there  are  two  principal  nationalities  immediately  involved. 
In  each  of  them  the  sui>reme  Ruler  of  nations  has  a  special 
concern.  One  of  them  is  the  great  Assyrian  power.  It  is 
now  supreme  in  the  civilized  world.  Its  suiu-emacy  has 
been  gained  by  force  skilfully  organized  and  steadily  ex- 


Book  VIII 

the  West- 

3m  would 
'•     Tlie.se 
Cli.  xxii., 
'pro[)]iet- 
ansideietl 
oops   are 
Egyptian 
li-blow  in 
I  it,  how- 
sccnrses. 
ich  illus- 
g  genius 
Ji.ce  and 
xiii.    To 
uly  heen 
responds 

hurried 
5,  087); 

conclu- 
arangue 
)roaches 
ly  from 

n  sum- 
Such 
ssor  in 
so  that 

10  f.), 
tion   of 

OS  the 
^o  liim 
v'olved. 
special 
It  is 
r^y  has 
ily  ex- 


Ch.  VI,  §  ;2:] 


ISAIAH   X 


313 


erted  as  never  before  in  the  world's  histor}-,.  just  as  its 
hanglity  ruler  proudly  asserts  (vs.  7,  18).  The  smaller 
kincfdoms  east  and  west  go  down  before  it  sinjjlv  or  allied 
with  or  without  resistance  (vs.  8  f.,  13  f. ).  The  other 
nationality  is  Israel,  or  rather  the  surviving  fragments  of 
what  once  was  Israel.  Crippled  by  disunion  and  misgov- 
ernment,  it  is  now  smaller  and  feebler  than  in  the  daj's  of 
former  Assyrian  conquerors,  and  is  surely  becoming  the 
})rcy  of  the  great  subverter  of  the  nations  (vs.  10  f.).  Upon 
Israel  Assyria  is  permitted  to  work  its  will  almost  to  com- 
plete destruction  (v.  6).  With  dramatic  vividness  the 
(Jreat  King  sets  forth  the  might  and  policy  of  liis  empire. 
And  it  would  seem  as  if  his  boasts  were  justified.  For 
who  had  been  able  to  stay  the  force  of  his  onset?  and  what 
god  could  deliver  Jerusalem  out  of  his  hand?  (v.  11). 
Fiom  the  common-sense  point  of  view  he  was  right.  And 
Isaiah,  who  was  no  mere  common-sense  observer,  neverthe- 
less acknowledges  that  of  his  own  deeds  he  had  spoken 
truth  (cf.  xxxvii.  18).  Moreover,  he  would  go  on  as  he 
liad  done.  He  would  still  by  force  and  cunning  remove 
the  bounds  of  the  nations,  dethrone  their  princes,  despoil 
them  of  their  treasures,  and  seize  and  deport  their  families, 
taking  up  one  by  one  from  his  home  with  as  mucli  ease 
and  as  little  resistance  as  one  puts  his  hand  into  a  nest 
and  takes  out  the  eggs  or  the  hushed,  unsheltered  nest- 
linos  from  whom  the  friglitened  mother  bird  has  flown. 
Further  still:  when  the  Assyrian  robs  and  spoils  the 
iii'lds  and  homesteads  of  Judah,  the  prophet  as  a  states- 
man and  [)atriot  declares  that  the  fate  of  his  countrymen 
is  a  well-deserved  punishment.  Tlie  paradox — an  object 
lesson  and  t3'pical  example  for  the  ages  —  only  Isaiah  and 
such  as  he  can  solve.  lie  puts  into  the  crucible  his  devd- 
tion  to  his  country,  along  with  his  loyalty  to  Jehovah  and 
to  his  righteousness,  and  it  comc.->  forth  as  gold.  It  is 
divine  justice  that,  for  gracious  ends,  is  meting  out  this 
punishment  by  the  hand  of  the  Assyrian  oppressor.  And 
so  the  truer  patriotism  is  justified. 


ill . 


rMi.  H 


'i     .! 


!     M 


*. .  r.., . 

•I   ' 

i  i 

'   1 


1  i;, 


314 


ISAIAH   X 


Book  VIII 


55  724.  But  the  solution  is  incomplete  till  judgment  is 
given  upon  the  Ass3'iian  despot.  There  is  a  meaning 
infinitely  profound  and  far-reaching  in  this  drastic  disci- 
pline of  Jehovah's  people.  One  of  its  lessons  for  the  time, 
and  for  all  time,  is  that  it  is  Jehovah  himself  who  directs 
the  stroke,  and  that,  too,  by  the  hand  of  his  people's  most 
hurtful  foe.  But  this  shows  only  one  side  of  tlie  swiftly 
unrolling  scroll  of  Providence.  The  ministry  of  destruc- 
tion, even  of  wholesome  chastening,  cannot  be  perpetual. 
The  vengeful  destroyer  himself  will  come  to  an  end  when 
liis  work  is  done  —  the  work  to  which,  all  unconsciously, 
he  was  set  by  Jehovah  himself.  How  singular  again  was 
Isaiah  in  his  judgment  of  Assyria  !  The  vicegerent  of 
Asshur  was  now  at  the  summit  of  liis  power.  All  Pales- 
tine was  witiiin  his  grasp.  Jerusalem  seemed  about  to 
fall  before  his  triumphantly  advancing  troops,  whose  march 
from  station  to  station  could  almost  be  followed  from  the 
heights  of  the  hapless  city  (vs.  28  ff.).  Egypt  alone  among 
the  western  lands  was  unsubdued.  But  its  time  also  was 
obviously  near  at  hand,  as  indeed  it  did  yield  to  Assyria 
under  Sinacherib's  son. 

§  725.  And  yet  the  Prophet  calmly  pronounces  As- 
syria's doom.  While  a  "remnant"  of  Israel  (vs.  20  ff. 
xxxvii.  4)  was  to  be  saved  in  perpetuity,  the  boastful, 
remorseless,  resistless  Assyrian  power  was  to  come  to  an 
utter  end  by  Jehovah's  own  hand,  as  soon  as  it  had  sub- 
served his  purpose  (v.  12).  The  boastings  of  the  Great 
King  were  as  vain  and  impotent  as  though  an  axe  or  a  saw 
( cL  vs.  ?)3  f.)  should  claim  to  be  self-moved  and  disown  the 
driving  aiul  guiding  hand  of  the  workman;  or  as  if  the 
staff  or  the  rod  (cf.  v.  24)  should  arrogate  to  itself  not 
only  the  force  of  the  stroke,  but  power  over  the  striker 
(  v.  15),  though  all  the  while  Assyria  is  tlie  rod  and  the 
staff  of  -lehovah  (v.  5).  "Isaiah's  genius  now  sup[»lies 
him  with  a  splendid  figure  with  which  to  depict  the  col- 
lapse of  the  Assyrian  enterprise.  The  serried  battalions  of 
Assyria  appear  Iv)  his  imagination  as  the  trees  of  some  huge 


sub- 

rreat 

saw 

the 

the 

lldt 

■iker 
the 

•lies 
eol- 

is  of 


Ch.  VI,  §  72ti 


ISAIAH   X 


315 


forest,  irresistible  in  their  strength  and  countless  in  their 
number,  but  the  light  of  Israel  kindles  majestically  into  a 
(lame,  and  at  the  end  of  a  single  day  a  child  may  count 
them  "  (vs.  17-19). ^  And  so  prophetic  insight  discerns  tlie 
essential  weakness,  and  the  elements  of  decay  and  retribu- 
tion, in  the  only  enduring  empire  yet  known  to  men.  And 
prophetic  foresight  outruns  a  century's  further  march  of 
conquest,  and  countless  processions  of  captives  and  host- 
ages, who  should  come  to  kiss  the  feet  of  mightier  monarchs 
than  Sinacherib.  "  Jehovah  of  hosts  shall  stir  up  against 
liim  a  scourge,  as  in  the  slaughter  of  Midian  at  the  rock  of 
Oreb"  (v.  26).  The  view  of  the  advancing  Assyrian  hosts, 
and  the  echo  of  the  lieartrendinfj  cries  of  the  fugitives 
from  the  evacuated  villages  (vs.  28  ff.),  only  serve  to  make 
stronger  the  God-given  assurance.  The  warriors  of  Asshur 
were  as  the  trees  of  the  forest  and  their  leaders  as  the 
cedars  of  Lebanon ;  but,  "  behold,  the  Lord  Jehovah  of 
hosts  lops  off  the  boughs  with  a  terrific  crash,  and  the 
tall  of  stature  are  hewn  down ;  the  lofty  ones  shall  be 
brought  low,  and  he  shall  cut  down  with  iron  the  thickets 
of  the  forest,  and  by  the  majestic  One  Lebanon  shall  fall " 
(vs.  33  f. ;  cf.  15).  It  is  evident  that  the  Prophet  was 
accustomed  to  walk  with  Jehovah  on  rare  and  command- 
ing heights  of  observation  and  prevision. 

§  726.  A  picture  of  the  future,  still  more  profound  and 
far-reaching,  follows  the  promise  of  Israel's  deliverance 
and  the  forecast  of  Assyria's  final  doom.  After  all,  Isaiah's 
main  business  was  that  of  a  teacher  and  preacher  of  right- 
eousness. To  him  the  revival  of  Israel  and  the  ruin  of 
Assyria  were  no  mere  indication  of  Jehovah's  superiority 
in  strength  and  wisdom  (cf.  x.  13)  to  the  gods  of  the  na- 
tions. They  were  the  tokens  and  conditions  of  a  moral  tri- 
umph, of  the  reinstatement  of  the  moral  order  of  Jehovah's 
world,  a  vindication  of  Jehovah's  rightful  title  to  suprem- 
acy among  the  peoples  of  the  earth.  Thirty  years  before, 
when  the  end  of  the  Syro-Ephraimitish  war  was  foreseen 


'  Driver,  Isaiah,  his  Life  and  Times  (Loudon,  Nisbet  &  Co.),  p.  71. 


'j'" 

i 

ill 

t 

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, 

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816 


ISAIAH  XI 


Book  VIIl 


to  be  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  combination  against 
Juclah  (§  326),  the  Prophet  was  filled  with  grief  at  the 
thought  of  the  desolation  as  well  as  the  faithlessness  of 
the  Northern  Kingdom  (cf.  §  329)  ;  but  his  soul  revived  at 
the  prospect  of  a  peaceful  restoration  and  joyous  reunion 
of  the  true  Israel  (ix.  1-5).  Then  he  uttered  the  great 
prophecy  as  to  the  birth  and  royal  nature  of  the  expected 
Immanuel  (ix.  6  f.),  who  should  be  equal  to  the  duties  of 
the  ideal  government  of  the  nation,  and  whose  name  was 
to  be  "the  wonderful  Counsellor,  the  perpetual  Father,^ 
the  god-like  Hero,  the  Prince  of  peace."  So  now  in  the 
throes  of  a  sterner  conflict,  whose  issue  he  sees  just  as 
clearly,  the  prophet  descries  beyond  the  horizon  of  common 
sight  a  similar  scene  of  peace  and  gladness  (xi.  1-10). 
Again,  as  before  (cf.  ix.  7)  the  pillars  of  the  regenerated 
kingdom  shall  be  justice  and  righteousness.  From  the 
stem  of  David's  royal  house,  though  hewn  so  near  to  the 
earth,  an  offshot  will  arise  to  fulfil  the  real  destiny  and  to 
attain  to  the  ideal  glories  of  that  ancient  and  immortal 
line.  His  attributes,  as  here  set  forth,  are  an  expansion  of 
the  manifold  characterization  of  the  earlier  prophecy.  The 
wonderful  Counsellor,^  the  god-like  Hero,  and  the  perpet- 
ual Protector  are  successively  portrayed  (vs.  2-5 ;  §  603). 
§  727.  Then  in  contrast  with  the  turmoil  of  the  na- 
tions in  arms  (ch.  xvii.  12  f.)  and  the  heavy  tread  of  the 
marching  warriors  (ch.  ix.  5)  and  the  angry  murmur  of 
the  Assyrian  host,  like  the  growling  of  the  couching  lion, 
or  the  moaning  of  the  sea  (ch.  v.  29  f.),  comes  the  reign  of 
the  Prince  of  peace,  throned  in  Mount  Zion.  Under  his 
benign  and  boundless  sway  the  higher  and  lower  creation 
cease  their  immemorial  strife,  and  in  innocent  mutual  con- 

^  That  is  (cf.  §  431)  a  never-failing  Protector,  not  "  a  father  of  booty," 
as  the  phrase  is  sometimes  rendered,  with  disregard  alike  of  the  context 
as  a  whole  and  of  the  parallelism. 

-  That  so  large  a  role  is  here  ascribed  to  the  "  counsellor  "  is  to  be  ex- 
plaine<l  by  the  consideration  that  the  highest  function  of  the  ideal  king 
was  to  give  "  counsel  "  (cf.  1  K.  iii.  28),  as  indeed  is  implied  in  the  very 
name  for  "king"  (§30). 


r 


Ch.  VI,  §  728 


ISAIAH   XI,    XII,    XXXIII 


31T 


be  ex- 
1  king 
6  very 


fidenee  unite  in  a  universal  and  unbroken  truce  of  (iod 
(xi.  6-9).  The  secret  spell  that  binds  and  unities  all  peo- 
ples is  the  recognition  of  Jehovah  (v.  9).  To  the  crowned 
son  of  Jesse,  in  his  glorious  resting-place,  the  reconciled 
nations  shall  come  flocking  (v.  10 ;  cf.  ii.  1  ff.).  But  tirst 
and  chief  of  all  shall  return  the  banished  sons  of  an  undi- 
vided Israel.  Ephraim  and  Judah,  no  longer  estranged, 
shall  unite  to  defend  their  own  and  Jehovah's  land.  The 
remotest  regions  shall  restore  the  exiles,  who  shall  speed 
over  the  well-cleared  highwiiys  that  lead  to  the  home-land 
(v.  11-16).  Then  follows  the  hymn  of  grateful  praise 
that  shall  be  sung  by  the  happy  pilgrims  (ch.  xii. ). 

§  728.  The  long  agony  will  now  soon  be  over,  and  Jeru- 
salem be  saved.  Isaiah,  the  serenity  of  whose  soul  seems 
incapable  of  disturbance,  who  never  misses  the  safe  and 
sure  cross-way  between  the  practical  and  the  contempla- 
tive life,  all  whose  previous  discourses  reveal  absolute 
self-control  even  amid  the  most  appalling  dangers,  and 
perfect  mental  balance  even  in  the  furthest  flight  of  his 
imagination,  at  last  shows  signs  of  intense  excitement,  if 
not  of  ecstasy.  His  last  discourse  (ch.  xxxiii.),  conceived 
and  uttered  as  the  Assyrian  troops  were  about  to  raise  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem,  or  perhaps  when  the  news  was  brought 
of  the  disaster  at  Pelusium  (§  704  ff.),  while  entirely 
characteristic  of  Isaiah  in  its  matter,  is  surprisingly  un- 
like his  other  compositions  in  expression.^  Instead  of  the 
accustomed  smooth  and  flowing  periods,  we  have  here  ab- 
rupt transitions  and  in  general  an  exclamatory  manner, 
almost,  and  in  some  passages  quite,  of  the  lyrical  style. 

1  Hence  it  lias  been  supposed  by  a  number  of  recent  critics  tliat  tliis 
cliapter  was  written  after  tlie  Kxile.  Tlie  surest  test  of  its  autliorsliij)  is 
the  funilaniental  reference  to  tlie  moral  and  social  struggle  characteristic 
of  tills  whole  period  of  prophecy  from  Amos  to  Micali.  See  esjjecially  vs. 
14  ff.  Cheyne  in  his  liitrmljirti'in  (1805,  p.  171)  says  that  the  religious 
ideas  belong  to  the  church  of  the  Second  Temple.  'I'lie  decision  depends 
largely  on  one's  general  critical  .standpoint.  In  its  style,  however,  it  does 
not  resemble  Isaiah's  .spontaneous  utterances.  In  the  case  of  a  writer  of 
Isaiah's  endowments  style  is  not  a  sure  criterion  of  authorship. 


"i 


h 


liiii 


4 


I 

I 

ll 


t 


1  ■ 


■!  ■ 


i 


f  * 


318 


ISAIAH   XXXIII 


Book  VIII 


It  is,  however,  of  higlily  artistic  structure.  It  consists  of 
two  equal  portions  of  twelve  verses  each,  and  each  of 
these  again  equally  subdivided.  This  prophetic  poem 
opens  with  a  forecast  ^  of  the  deserved  ruin  of  the  aggres- 
sive and  treacherous  Assyrian,  who  should  be  paid  in  kind 
Avlien  his  hour  is  come  (v.  1).  A  fervent  prayer  for  Jeho- 
vah's generous  intervention  (v.  2)  is  at  once  followed  by 
a  picture  of  the  tumultuous  dispersion  and  spoliation  of 
the  nations  serving  under  Asshur,  brought  about  in  an- 
swer to  the  prayer,  and  of  the  enduring  moral  and  spiritual 
regeneration  which  Jerusalem  shall  experience  (vs.  3-6). 
Next  comes  a  reminiscence  of  the  people's  disappointment 
and  grief  at  the  rejection  of  the  embassy  (sent  after  the 
first  demand  for  surrender,  5^  "i^OS),  and  of  the  desolation 
of  the  devastated  land  (vs.  7-9).  Again  comes  the  antith- 
esis :  Jehovah  arises ;  the  plans  of  the  oppressor  are  made 
null  and  void ;  their  own  passionate  outbreatliings  of  cruel 
liate  become  a  fire  to  consume  them  (vs.  9-12). 

§  729.  The  second  half  of  the  prophecy  (vs.  13-24) 
forms  of  itself  a  triumphal  ode  of  almost  unequalled 
beauty  ^  and  of  imaginative  splendour  and  sustained  eleva- 
tion of  thought  and  feeling  unsurpassed  in  Hebrew  litera- 
ture. The  scorners  of  Jehovah  and  of  his  teaching  in  Jeru- 
salem (j5  643)  are  appalled  and  dismayed  at  this  exhibition 
of  his  might  Now  comes  the  time  of  proof ;  for  the  judg- 
ment is  at  hand.  The  trial  is  by  fire,  the  testing  of  God 
(xxix.  6;  XXX.  27,  30;  §  718):  "who  of  us  can  abide  the 
consuming  fire?  who  of  us  can  abide  the  perpetual  burn- 


ings 


'> " 


(vs.  13  f.).  The  answer  is  the  vindication  of  the 
whole  prophetic  teaching  (cf.  Ps.  xv. ;  xxiv.  3  f. ;  §  607  ff.). 
"He  that  walketh  in  righteousness  and  speaketh  in  up- 
riglitness,  he  that  rejecteth  the  gain  of  extortion,  who 
snatcheth  away  his  hand  from  grasping  a  bribe,  who  stop- 
peth  liis  ears  from  liearing  of  bloodshed,  who  shutteth  his 

1  Most  signally  verified  in  the  wrathful  uprising  of  the  nations  for  the 
destruction  of  Nineveh  in  (308  n.c. 

2  Cf.  W.  R.  Smith,  Prophets,  p.  354. 


the 


Cir.  VI,  §  730 


ISAIAH   XXXIll 


819 


eyes  from  looking  upon  evil ;  he  shall  dwell  among  the 
heights,  his  stronghold  shall  be  rock-built  defences ;  his 
bread  is  given  him,  his  water  is  assured"  (vs.  15,  16). 
The  king  (Hezekiah)  is  soon  to  be  arrayed  in  splendid 
robes  of  royalty,  instead  of  the  garments  of  his  humiliation 
(cf.  xxxvii.  1).  The  view  of  the  far-stretching  recovered 
land  of  Judah  is  now  unhampered  by  any  besieging  army 
(V.  17).  The  terror  of  the  siege  will  now  be  matter  for 
grateful  recollection:  "Where  is  he  that  counted  out, 
where  is  he  that  weighed  (the  money  paid  to  Sinacherib)? 
where  is  he  that  numbered  the  towns  (in  reconnoitring)?" 
No  more  shall  the  foreign  speech  of  the  fierce  Assyrian  grate 
liarshly  upon  the  ears  of  the  terror-stricken  citizens  (vs.  18  f .). 
§  730.  Most  cheering  of  all,  the  home  of  the  Temple 
and  the  centre  of  Jehovah's  worship  remains  unharmed  and 
shall  abide  secure.  The  tent  (§  465)  shall  not  be  struck, 
nor  the  people  deported  like  so  many  of  their  brothers 
(§  080)  outside  of  Jerusalem  (v.  20).  "For  the  name^  of 
Jehovah  the  majestic  (cf.  x.  34 :  xxx.  27  f.)  is  to  us  in  the 
place  of  broad  rivers  and  canals,  although  no  galley  with 
oars  goes  there  nor  any  stately  ships  pass  through "  — 
Jerusalem  cannot  rely  upon  the  protecting  and  wealth- 
giving  streams  Avhicli  flow  by  Nineveh  and  Babylon  ;  ^  but 
Jehovah  is  a  surer  protection  and  a  more  substantial  boast 
—  "for  Jehovah  is  our  judge;  Jehovah  is  our  lawgiver; 
Jehovah  is  our  king:  He  will  save  us"  (vs.  21  f.).  Jerusa- 
lem, which  was  like  a  ship  whose  tacklings  were  loosed, 
its  mast  unshipped,  and  its  sails  unspread,  suddenly  awakes 
to  triumphant  life  and  energy.  Its  people  seize  upon  the 
spoil  of  the  fleeing  Assyrians  (cf.  v.  4),  even  the  crippled 


1  So  read,  acconling  to  the  Sept.  and  Syr.  vcr.sions,  by  a  change  of 
vowels,  histead  of  the  word  translated  '•  there.'' 

-  The  streams  of  Habylonia  were  always  a  matter  <if  admiration  and 
envy  to  the  smaller  states  of  Western  Asia,  and  they  play  (luite  ;i  role  in 
Old  Testament  literature  from  the  story  of  Paradi.se'  to  the  songs  of  the 
Exile  (I's.  cxxxvii.).  As  illustrating  the  thought  of  the  text,  compare 
the  rise  of  the  Euphrates  as  a  symlxil  of  tlie  power  of  Assyria  in  Isa.  viii. 
7  f.,  where  a  contrast  is  also  drawn  with  the  puny  stream  of  Jerusalem. 


'■■  »■ 


r.A.h 


i  .„  I 


a ' 


III 


?'< 


320 


PSALMS  OF  GHATITUDE 


Book  VIII 


invalids  sharing  in  the  pursuit  and  the  booty  (v.  23). 
Henceforth  there  is  to  be  neither  famine  nor  wasting  sick- 
ness. The  "  biead  of  adversity  and  water  of  affliction  " 
(XXX.  20;  §  717)  shall  be  doled  out  no  longer.  For  the  guilt 
that  brought  the  punishment  is  forgiven  (v.  24 ;  cf.  v.  16). 
§  731.  A  poem  wholly  lyrical,  forming  a  pendant  to 
this  semi-lyrical  prophecy,  has  been  preserved  to  us  among 
the  Temple  hj'mns.  It  immortalizes  the  gratitude  and 
praise  to  tl>f>  Deliverer  that  were  felt  and  sung  by  the 
faithful  "remnant."  We  can  imagine  the  situation.  The 
king  and  the  palace  officials  were  now  completely  won 
over  to  the  views  and  policy  of  Isaiah,  and  for  a  time 
there  was  no  lack  of  enthusiasm  among  the  people  at 
large.  In  particular  the  Temple  was  the  scene  of  a  more 
spiritual  and  fervent  worship  (cf.  Isa.  i.  11  ff.),  so  that  we 
may  even  imagine  the  priests  to  have  lost  for  awhile  tlieir 
mechanical  and  servile  spirit.  Accompanying  the  devout- 
ness  of  the  worshippers,  and  in  accord  with  the  reforming 
movement  now  for  a  while  taken  up  seriously  by  king 
and  court,  came  the  composition  and  public  recitation  of 
hymns  of  thanksgiving.  The  noblest  of  these  ( Ps.  xlvi.) 
was  perhaps  penned  by  Isaiah  himself  in  the  days  of  calm 
reflectiveness  that  followed  the  excitement  of  the  siege 
and  its  vicissitudes.  At  any  rate,  it  is  the  sublimated  spirit 
of  his  contemporary  prophecies,  especially  ch.  xxxiii.  The 
language  of  the  hymn  is  universal  and  self-explaining.^ 

1  The  only  .illusion  not  perfectly  obvious  is  that  of  v.  4  :  "There  is  a 
river  whose  rills  make  glad  the  city  of  God,  the  holy  i)lace  of  the  tents  of 
the  Most  High."  It  is  to  be  explained  by  Isa.  xxxiii.  21  ;  cf.  viii.  0  f. 
Jehovah  himself  is  the  protecting  stream  (cf.  §  7oO).  The  little  brook 
that  fed  the  pool  of  Siloam,  is  more  to  Jerusalem  than  the  great  complex 
of  rivers  and  canals  to  the  cities  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia.  The  con- 
nection of  Ps.  xlviii.  with  the  great  event  is  not  so  obvious.  To  Ps.  Ixxvi. 
the  Sept.  prefixes  "against  the  Assyrian,"  from  the  supposed  reference  of 
V.  5  f.  to  the  destruction  of  the  army  of  Sinacherib.  There  are  also  other 
coincidences  ;  cf.  v.  3  with  xlvi.  9  and  the  tone  and  phraseology  of  the  two 
Psalms  generally.  But  an  Aramaism  in  v.  6  of  the  Hebrew  text  points  to  a 
later  composition.  Probably  Ps.  Ixxvi.  is  an  echo  of  xlvi.  and  the  prophetic 
spirit  of  its  time,  awakened  by  the  fall  of  Nineveh  ;  cf.  Nah.  iii.  18. 


Ch.  VI,  §  732        WITHDRAWAL  (»F   SINACHEHIB  :]l'1 

§  732.  Tlie  catastrophe  on  the  border  of  Palestine 
(§  704  ff.)  was  followed  by  a  hasty  march  away  from  the 
seaboard,  which  had  almost  the  aspect  of  a  retreat.  It 
is  not  difficult  to  conceive  of  the  effect  produced  upon 
the  superstitious  mind  of  Sinacherib  by  the  sudden  and 
terrible  infliction.  Nor  is  it  incredible  that  he  should 
have  traced  the  disaster  to  the  intervention  of  Jehovah, 
who  to  him  was  the  most  powerful  god  of  the  West-land. 
For  a  time  it  had  seemed  to  him,  as  to  his  versatile  legate 
(2  K.  xviii.  25),  that  Jehovah  was  on  the  side  of  the 
Assyrians  —  so  complete  had  been  his  success  in  his  inva- 
sion and  devastation  of  Judah  outside  of  the  capital 
(§  686).  But  well  informed  as  he  must  have  been  of  the 
occult  and  tremendous  power  behind  the  throne  in  Jeru- 
salem, he  found  something  awe-inspiring  even  in  the 
resistance  of  the  fore-doomed  cit}'.  And  so  when  the 
stroke  fell  in  the  unmistakable  guise  of  a  divine  visita- 
tion (§  707),  it  was  inevitable  that  the  God  of  Hezekiah 
and  Isaiah  should  be  accredited  with  the  dire  calamity. 
Sinacherib  lived  twenty  years  longer  (§  741) :  but  it  is 
doubtful  whether  anj^  Assyrian  expedition  visited  Pales- 
tine during  the  remainder  of  his  reign.  Certain  it  is  that 
he  never  again  came  to  the  West-land  in  person,  and  we 
may  well  believe  that  henceforward  the  land  was  to  him  a 
place  of  evil  omen.^  We  must  add  to  this  the  phenome- 
nal fact  that  Jerusalem,  although  a  city  marked  out  for 
destruction  (§  288),  was  never  afterwards  besieged  by  an 
Assyrian  army  (cf.  §  801  ff.). 

1  The  almost  incredible  effects  of  sudden  i^urprise  upon  occupants  of  a 
strange  land  are  doubtless  to  be  traced  to  some  such  sentiment  of  super- 
stitious awe.  The  god  of  the  land  (§  58,  61)  was  invested  with  inalienable 
power,  and  an  unexpected  attack  from  any  of  his  subjects  would  thus 
easily  occasion  panic  dread.  In  this  way  we  have  to  account  largely 
for  the  victory  of  Abraham's  band  over  the  Elamites  and  their  allies 
(Gen.  xiv.),  for  that  of  Gideon's  troops  over  the  Midianites  (.Jud.  vii.), 
and  even  for  the  repulse  of  the  Philistines  by  -Jonathan  and  his  armour- 
bearer  (1  S.  xiv.).  A  night  attack  was  naturally  (cf.  §  707)  the  most 
uncanny  and  deadly. 


1 
I 

I 


^       V 


I 


I     V 


.    ! 


CHAPTER   VII 


SINACHEUIB   AND    HABVLONIA 


h:: 


s  U 


§  733.  Sinaelierib's  return  to  the  east  was  probably 
accelerated  by  weighty  causes  apart  from  the  disaster  to 
his  army  and  his  disappointment  at  the  survival  of  Jeru- 
salem. Babylonia,  after  all,  had  a  stronger  interest  for 
him  than  Palestine  or  Egypt.  Besides,  he  had  partly 
gained  his  ends  by  his  memorable  western  expedition. 
His  bitterest  lasting  disappointment  was  probably  the 
successful  resistance  of  Tyre  (§  680  ff.).  Egypt,  too,  was 
scarcely  ready  to  occupy,  and  in  the  meantime,  though 
the  unyielding  capital  remained  unscathed,  tlie  country  of 
Judah  itself,  the  centre  of  danger,  was  damaged  beyond 
speedy  recover}-,  and  the  subjugation  of  the  allied  Philis- 
tian  cities  secured  the  route  to  the  Isthmus.  But  in 
Babylonia  affairs  were  not  going  at  all  to  his  liking; 
and  his  fear  Avas  that  his  newly  assumed  authority  there 
(§  673)  should  slip  entirely  out  of  his  hands.  As  long  as 
Merodach-baladan  was  alive,  he  apprehended  peril  and  in- 
security for  his  own  dynasty ;  but  the  ambition  and  enter- 
prise which  had  twice  given  that  adventurer  the  throne  of 
Babylon,  and  prestige  and  influence  as  far  as  the  Medi- 
terranean (§  679),  could  only  be  quelled  by  his  death  or 
perpetual  exile.  The  fourth  campaign  (B.C.  700)^  of  the 
Assyrian  king  was,  therefore,  partly  directed  against  Blt- 
Yukin,  the  moestral  country  of  the  redoubtable  Chaldfean 
(§  840).  On  his  way  thither  he  found  it  expedient  to 
make  an  attack  on  a  neighbouring  prince,  Suzub  by  name, 

1  Taylor  Cylinder.  II f,  42  ff. 


Cii.  VII,  §  734        INVASION  OF  THE   SEA-LAND 


32.1 


also  ii  Chaldajan,  a  confederate  of  the  great  pretender,  and 
a  prospective  claimant  of  the  throne  of  Babylon  to  which, 
in  fact,  he  at  length  attained  (§  739).  In  true  Chaldtean 
fashion  the  obnoxious  chieftain  betook  himself  to  flight; 
"nobody  could  see  a  trace  of  him." 

§  734.  Contented  with  the  temporary  subjection  of  the 
marshes,  which  were  the  nursery  ^  and  the  refuge  of  the 
race  which  he  could  defeat  but  never  really  conquer, 
Sinacherib  marched  on  to  Bit-Yakin.  What  now  took 
place  may  best  be  given  in  the  words  of  the  official  Assyr- 
ian annalist,  to  whose  formal  and  monotonous  narrative 
unexpected  dignity  and  pathos  are  lent  by  its  heroic  sub- 
ject and  his  fate :  ^  '*  I  took  the  way  to  Bit-Yakin.  That 
Merodach-baladan,  whose  defeat  I  had  accomplished  in  the 
course  of  my  first  expedition,  and  whose  strength  I  had 
shattered,  feared  the  clanging  of  my  strong  weapons  and 
the  mighty  shock  of  my  onset ;  he  brought  the  gods  of 
his  whole  land  out  of  their  shrines,^  embarked  them  in 
ships,  and,  like  a  bird,  tied  to  the  city  of  Nagitu-in-the 
Fens,*  which  is  washed  by  the  sea.  His  brothers,  his 
kindred,  who  had  withdrawn  from  the  seashore,  along 
with  the  rest  of  his  subjects,  I  brought  away  from  the 
land  of  Bit-Yrdvin,  from  out  of  the  swamps  and  reeds,  and 
made  them  my  prisoners.  His  cities  I  razed  and  devas- 
tated and  made  like  a  wilderness."  Of  the  fugitive  noth- 
ing more  is  heard.  When  the  Elamitic  city  of  refuge 
was  attacked  by  Sinacherib,  six  years  later  (§  737  f.),  no 

'  Anutlier  in.stance  of  a  "ten  cumitry  "  breeding  sui  lieroic  and  lui- 
ciMKiuerable  people  ;  cf.  Kiiig.sley,  Ileren-anl  the  Waki',  prelude.  Tiie 
C'halda'ans,  like  the  English  of  the  Norman  period,  were  subjected  to 
endless  indignities  and  cruelties  by  the  Assyrian  overlords,  but  like  the 
English  they  at  length  came  to  their  own  again  in  unprecedented  greatness. 

"'  Ibid.  Ill,  50-(U. 

*  I  R .  4.'J,  8  f.  contains  the  following  important  addition  :  "and  gathered 
the  bones  of  his  ancestors  out  of  their  tombs."  Evidently  preparations 
had  been  made  for  a  wholesale  mii:ration  (cf.  Gen.  xlix.  29  ff. ).  It  is, 
therefore,  more  than  probable  that  the  Assyrian  account  of  the  capture 
of  his  relatives  and  friends  is  greatly  exaggerated. 

*  Cf.  Par.  323  f.     So  called  in  distinction  from  another  yagitu. 


■i      [, 

:        I. 

^1 

'■  ''I 


Ah 


1^  1i 


Ii 


*1  )      1 


M 


324 


CHANT.ES   IN  BABYLONIA 


Book  VIII 


■,, 


report  was  niade  of  Assyria's  most  stubborn  foe.  Doubt- 
less he  died  as  he  had  lived,  surrounded  by  his  ancestral 
gods,  bequeathing  a  legacy  of  perpetual  war  against  his 
country's  oppressoi',  perhaps  fondly  imagining  the  rise  and 
triumph  of  some  mighty  "goel,"  but  hardly  daring  to 
dream  of  any  such  glorious  empire  as  that  which  should 
be  erected  by  Nebuchadrezzar  the  Chaldtean  upon  the 
ruins  of  Assyria. 

§  735.  The  South-Babylonian  leaders  could  thus  enjoy 
the  protection  of  their  ally  the  king  of  Elam,  and  while 
exiled  in  his  territory  they  could  furtlier  intrigue  for  the 
expulsion  of  the  Assyrians.  In  Babylon  itself  Bel-ibnl, 
the  a[)pointee  of  Sinacherib  (§  073),  had  proved  anything 
but  a  docile  administrator  of  a  vassal  state.  He  was  now 
deposed,  and  the  heir  to  the  throne  of  Assyria,  Asshur- 
nfidin-sum,  installed  in  his  place.  The  peace  of  Babylonia 
was  thus  secured  for  seveial  years,  however  irksome  the 
less  tolerant  rdgime  might  be  to  the  ancient  priesthood  and 
cultured  aristocracy.  The  following  years,  till  696,  were 
occupied  with  campaigns  in  Southern  Armenia,  and  in 
Cilicia  from  the  Gulf  as  far  north  as  the  border  of  Tabal 
(Tibarene).  According  to  supplementary  reports  of  Beros- 
sus,  Sinacherib's  progress  in  Cilicia  was  interfered  with 
by  an  incursion  of  Greeks,  whom  he  defeated  after  a  severe 
struggle.  He  is  also  credited  with  having  rebuilt  the  city 
of  Tarsus  (cf.  vol.  i,  p.  290,  note). 

55  736.  Meanwhile  Elam  was  being  used  by  Chaldrean 
refugees  as  a  base  of  operations  upon  Babylonia,  now  un- 
der Assyrian  military  rule.  The  favourite  plan  of  action 
pursued  by  these  men  of  the  mai'shes  was  to  swarm  over 
the  estuaries  of  the  Rivers  in  their  boats  and,  when  no' 
lodged  by  the  Assyrian  garrisons,  to  reoccupv  th( 
abodes,  and  thus  gradually  win  l)ack  from  .j^.. 

giance  the  land  of  their  fathers.  When  ai  I'ked  a  .d 
pursued  by  the  troops  of  Asshur,  they  found  it  an  '^asy 
task  to  reach  their  secure  retreats  by  familiar  ways.  The 
sequel  also  shows  that  most  of  the  merchant  vessels  of 


•1  f1 


Cii.  VII,  §  737     CIIALD.KANS   ACROSS  THE   GULF 


325 


the  Babylonian  cities^  must  have  been  at  the  disposal 
of  the  patriotic  freebooters,  else  Sinacherib  would  have 
availed  himself  of  their  aid.  The  Chaldaean  colony  across 
the  Gulf,  cut  off  from  ordinary  approach  by  the  interven- 
ing territory  of  Klam,  and  continually  strengthened  l)y 
accessions  of  refugees,  had  become  a  serious  menace  to  the 
Assyrian  government,  and  must  at  all  hazards  be  broken 
up.  This  was  done  by  means  of  an  ingenious  undertaking 
carried  out  in  6!*4  B.C.  with  the  energy  and  pertinacity  so 
characteristic  of  the  Assyrian  people.  The  jjlan  and  its 
execution  illustrate  at  the  same  time  tlie  resources  and 
organization  of  the  empire  better  than  any  other  single 
recorded  action  of  the  time. 

^  737.  The  wide-spread  maritime  activity  of  the  Phoeni- 
cian people,  their  enterprise,  skill,  and  courage  have  been 
frequently  referred  to  in  this  history  (§  QQ,  97,  206,  683). 
It  was  characteristic  of  the  rulers  of  Assyria  at  the  height 
of  its  power  to  utilize  not  only  the  products  of  its  various 
subject  states,  but  also  the  genius  of  their  people.  The 
West-land  particularly  had  from  time  immemorial  been 
spoiled  of  its  costliest  productions  by  the  ruling  dynasties 
of  the  East  (§  96,  99).  The  cedars  of  Lebanon  and 
Amanus  were  found  in  every  palace  and  temple  of  the 
great  capitals.  Modes  of  Syrian  architecture  were  intro- 
duced by  predecessor  of  Sinacherib,^  of  course  under  the 
direction  of  Syrian  architects.  Prisoners  had  been  made 
of  the  maritime  western  peoples  in  great  numbers  in  the 
preceding  years.  PhoMiician  sailors  were  familiar  with 
the  navigation  of  the  Persian  Gulf  as  well  as  of  the  Red 
Sea.  Here  was  an  opportunity  of  making  a  good  use  of 
these  clever  newly  acquired  servants  of  Asshur.      They 

1  Some  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  sliipping  interests  of  Babylonia  may 
be  gained  from  K.  4378  (AL^  gg)^  Col.  v,  vi,  where  a  list  of  the  various 
kinds  of  vessels  is  given  according  to  the  place  of  building,  form  and 
style,  or  dedication  to  a  particular  deity ;  also  of  the  parts  of  a  ship. 
Cf.  Isa.  xliii.  14. 

2  Cf.  §  341  ;  Sarg.  Cyl.  04  ;  Khors.  102.  etc. 


w 


f  !• 


4.1 


M 


«'i 


I'i 


m 


ii 


320 


UNIQUE   NAVAL   EXrEDITION 


Book  VllI 


were  set  to  make  ships  for  the  Assyrian  overlord,  and 
then  to  man  them.  Nagltu,  the  asyhim  of  the  trouble- 
some Chaldaean  refugees,  was  inaccessible  by  land.  They, 
and  they  alone,  could  be  relied  on  to  reach  them  by  sea. 
"  Lofty  ships,  after  the  model  of  their  own  country,"  were 
built  on  the  Tigris,  near  Nineveh,  and  at  Til-Barsip  by  the 
farthest  western  course  of  the  Euphrates,*  about  seven 
liundred  miles  from  the  sea  I 

§  738.  When  the  ships  had  been  made  ready,  they  were 
brought  down  the  Rivers  to  the  shores  of  the  Gulf.  The 
sailors  were  sea-faring  people,  prisoners  of  war.  according 
to  Sinacherib,  from  Tyre,  Sidon,  and  Cyprus.  The  troops 
were  put  on  board  not  far  from  Babylon,  wliile  the  king 
and  his  retinue  marched  along  the  bank.  Here  a  novel 
and  unexpected  peril  threatened  the  valiant  -monarch  of 
the  four  (juarter-'  of  the  world."  Having  made  a  camp 
for  the  body-guard  a  few  njiles  from  tiio  sea  close  by 
the  ships,  he  and  his  party  were  sur[irised  by  a  tlood- 
tide,  which  rose  and  submerged  their  tents,  so  that  they 
were  fain  to  take  to  the  vessels.  Here  they  had  to  stay 
live  days  and  nights,  "as  it  were  in  a  great  cage."  After 
this  experience  the  king  had  no  mind  to  try  personally 
either  the  shore  or  the  sea  route.  The  soldiers  and  sailors, 
however,  after  the  priestly  blessing  had  been  given,  and 
costly  sacritlces  of  a  golden  ship  and  a  golden  lish  had 
been  made  to  Ea,  the  god  of  the  deep,  set  bravely  forth, 
arrived  without  misha[>  on  the  Elamitic  side  of  the  Gulf, 
todk  and  plundered  Nagltu,  and  sinidrv  neighbouring  set- 
tlements of  the  hated  Chakhoans,  brought  away  much 
booty  and  many  prisoners,  —  but  no  Merodach-baladan ! 
By  this  time,  let  us  hope,  he  had  laid  his  bones  to  rest 

1  Siv  Tar.  141.  2<5:5  f.  ;  KCJF.  100  f.  Dolit/.scli  (Par.  141)  reminds  as 
of  the  somewhat  similar  uiidertakiiii;  of  Alexander  the  Great,  who.  for 
the  contjuest  of  Arabia,  had  ships  made  in  Cyprus  and  rhoMiicia.  and 
carried  overland  in  sections  to  'rhajtsacus  on  tlie  Eupiiratcs.  whence  they 
were  hroufjht  on  their  natural  element  to  Babylon ;  Arriaa.  vii,  19,  ;} ; 
Strabo.  xvi.  1,  11. 


Cii.  VII,  §  730 


ELAMITIC   INTEKVENTION 


;327 


beside  those  of  his  ancestors  (J5  734).  The  Great  King,  in 
his  secure  position  above  the  higliest  flood-tide,  welcomed 
back  his  trusty  warriors  and  their  spoil  with  liis  wonted 
self-complacency.^ 

§  731).  Thus  one  of  the  main  obstacles  to  Assyrian  pre- 
dominance in  Babylonia  was  taken  out  of  the  way.  But 
there  still  remained  the  hereditary  Elamitic  foe,  and  most 
dangerous  of  all,  the  patriotic  citi:',ens  in  Babylon,  Borsippa, 
and  Akkad,  embittered  against  Sinacherib  and  his  house 
l)y  the  dread  of  national  obliteration  and  the  degradation 
of  their  stately  worship.  Whether  the  Great  King  had  as 
able  generals  in  Babylor.ia  as  in  the  West-land  we  do  not 
know.  In  any  case  they  seem  to  have  left  the  eastern  bor- 
der insufliciently  guarded.  Scarcely  had  Sinacherib  re- 
turned with  his  Chaldican  trophies  to  Nineveh,  when  ( n.C. 
r)94)  the  king  of  Elam  overran  North  Babylonia,  took 
possession  of  Sippar  (§  '.•4 ),  and  put  its  inhabitants  to  the 
sword.2  1 1  is  next  step  was  to  dethrone  Sinaciierib's  son, 
Asshurnadin-sum.  and  carry  him  off  to  Elam.  In  his  place 
he  set  up  a  native  Babylonian,  Nergal-usezib  b}-  name,  who 
without  delay  undertook  to  undo  the  late  Assyrian  achieve- 
ments in  the  south.  But  he  liad  not  proceeded  far  on  liis 
way  when  he  was  overtaken  by  an  Assyrian  army  fiom  the 
north,  made  prisoner,  and  carried  to  the  land  of  his  cap- 

V 

tors.  Su7.ub^  the  Chalda'an  (i^  733)  now  seized  tlie  oppor- 
tunity and  seated  himself  upon  the  throne  of  Babylon.  As 
an  enemy  of  the  Assyrians  he  was  as  acceptable  to  the 
native  patriots  as  one  of  their  own  fellow-citizens.  Fnder 
him  they  enthusiastically  joined  their  forces  to  those  of  tiie 
Elamites  (002  B-c"),  who  themselves  had  in  the  short  inter- 
val since  004  })asse(l  tln-ough  two  revolutions,  and  were 
now  enjoying  the  rule  of  L'mman-menanu,  a  man  of  talent 


1  This  famous  cxpoditioii  is  iiivcii  most  fully  iu  III  1{.  lii  f. 

-  For  act 'urate  iufoiiuatiou  uiimi  tliis  ami  the  subspriueiU  events  we  are 
indebted  to  Hab.  Clir.  II  :V,t  ff. 

'  Called  in  llab.  Chr.  Muse/.ih-Marduk.  Hither  he  made  the  change 
after  coming  to  the  throne,  or  the  shorter  niune  is  an  abbreviation. 


■mi 


Au 


'  ^  I! 


DESTRUCTION  OF   BABYLON 


Book  VIII 


and  resolution.^  His  leadership  of  the  allied  forces  was  so 
successful  that  in  a  great  battle  fought  at  IJalule,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Tigris  (001  B.C.),  he  administered  to  Sinach- 
erib  a  severe  check,^  if  not  a  defeat,  by  which  he  was  com- 
pelled to  retire  to  Assyria,  eager  though  he  was  to  avenge 
the  fate  of  his  son  and  the  usur[)ation  of  his  authority. 

§  740.  But  the  valiant  Elamite  was  disabled  by  a 
stroke  of  paral^'sis  in  the  spring  of  089.^  His  protection 
of  r»abylon  had,  however,  been  so  effective  that  the  Great 
King  did  not  venture  to  reclaim  it  for  two  years  after  the 
battle.  Now  that  the  land  was  deprived  of  its  most  power- 
ful defender,  Sinaf^herib  descended  upon  it  in  vengeance 
and  fury.  In  Nov  inber  of  the  same  year  Babylon  was 
taken  and  its  Chahltean  king  carried  to  Nineveh.  The 
treatment  accorded  to  the  doomed  city  has  placed  upon 
the  record  of  Sinacherib  its  darkest  blot.  His  vindictive 
cruelty  was  here  only  equalled  by  his  almost  incredible 
impiety.  The  sacred  and  venerable  city  was  burned  to 
ashes  and  levelled  to  the  ground,  its  people  remorselessly 
put  to  death  or  sent  into  captivity,  and  the  waters  of  the 
Euphrates  being  turned  upon  its  site,  reduced  it  to  a  marshy 
waste.  The  destruction  of  Babylon  by  Sinacherib  may  be 
counted  among  the  calamities  of  human  history.  For  lack 
of  detailed  description  the  imagination  must  supply  a  pict- 
ure of  the  horrors  of  the  scene,  and  of  the  wanton  and 
irreparable  devastation  and  ruin.  The  monuments  of  lit- 
erature, art,  and  science,  the  annals  of  temples*  and  dynas- 


1  An  opinion  which  is  perliaps  confirmed  by  Sinaclierib's  .statement 
(Taylor  Cylinder,  V,  21  f.).  that  "he  had  no  sense  or  judgment." 

-  A  defeat,  according  to  Bab.  Chr.  Ill,  IS,  and  the  subsetpient  indica- 
tions. It  must  also  be  regarded  as  in  some  mejvsure  confirmatory  that 
Sinacherib  dcscrilies  the  battle  (V,  47-VI,  20)  with  a  circumstantiality 
and  boastfuluess  worthy  of  a  Falstaff. 

'  Bab.  Chr.  Ill,  10  ff.  lie  was  deprived  of  the  power  of  speech,  but 
he  did  not  die  till  eleven  months  later  (III,  25)  ;  that  is,  after  the  capture 
of  Babylon. 

*  Each  of  the  great  Babylonian  temples,  apart  from  it^  directly  relig- 
iiius  functions,  was  a  huge  business  and  scientific  institution.     With  its 


the 

arshy 

av  be 

lack 

)ict- 

and 

lit- 

nas- 


relig- 
th  its 


Ch.  VII,  §741    LATEST   YEARS   OF  SIXACHERIB 


329 


ties  for  thousands  of  3'ears,  the  archives  of  anisieut  families, 
the  records  of  treaties  and  of  legal  and  business  transactions, 
the  military  and  astronomical  reports,  the  chronological 
notices  —  all  these,  and  numberless  other  treasures  of  Baby- 
lonian life,  thought,  and  history,  became  the  prey  of  a  venge- 
ful fury  more  destructive  and  intinitely  less  excusable  than 
the  vandalism  of  Kasshites  or  Elamites.  Doubtless  much 
that  was  of  religious  or  historical  value  was  rescued  through 
the  foresight  and  activity  of  officials.  Hut  this  could  only 
have  been  little  compared  with  what  fell  a  prey  to  the 
ruthless  malignity  of  the  narrow-minded  concpieror.^ 

§  741.  Eight  years  more  of  life  were  vouchsafed  to  the 
devastator  of  Judah  and  Babylonia.  Over  the  latter  country 
he  proclaimed  himself  absolute  king^  —  the  tirst  Assyrian 
who  claimed  to  rule  there  by  the  grace  of  Assliur  and  not 
by  the  grace  of  Bel  and  Nebo  (cf.  §  341).  We  can  form 
only  a  general  conce^^tion  of  his  regime,  for  no  particulars 
are  as  yet  made  known  to  us.  Nor  are  we  much  better 
informed  as  to  his  activity  in  other  directions.  An  expedi- 
tion to  northern  Arabia  against  a  certain  Hazael,  which  we 
learn  of  (§  Too)  from  his  son  Esarhaddon,  was  probably  not 
conducted  by  him  in  person.  The  enterprise  itself  may 
have  been  undertaken  in  view  of  aggression  from  the  side 
of  Egypt,  or  with  an  eye  to  the  subjection  of  that  country, 
which  was  finally  accomplished  by  his  son  and  successor.^ 
The  closing  years  of  his  life  were,  we  must  believe,  mainly 

observatory  and  corps  of  observers  and  calculators,  it  was  a  centre  of 
astrological  and  astronomical  study.  U  was  also  a  proprietor  and  mana- 
ger of  great  and  numerous  properties,  with  a  vast  number  of  employees. 
"On  the  materiivl  side  it  must  be  conceived  of  rts  a  combination  of  landet 
property  and  factory,  while  at  the  same  time  it  was  kept  running  as  ii, 
bank,  a  depository  of  records,  and  business  establishment  generally." 
reiser,  Bahyhiiisrhe  Vi  rtriujc  (IHStO),  p.  xviii. 

'  Tlie  taking  of  Babylon  is  described  in  the  Havian  In.scription,  lines 
43  ff  ;  and  its  ruin,  by  Esarhaddon  the  restorer,  in  I  U.  40  Cnl.  I,  II. 

'^  Bab.  Chr.  Ill,  28,  says  significantly:  "Eight  years  there  was  no 
king  in  Babylon,"  that  is.  it  was  ruled  directly  from  Nineveh. 

■'  According  to  an  ingenious  hypothesis  of  Winckler  (GBA.  p.  254  f. ; 
256  ff.),  the  occurrences  described  in  2  K.  xix.  3-37  are  to  be  connected 


i  '"1 


'. ' 


f': 


f    <: 


-r' 


i 


i  liS?| 


330 


CHAKACTEK   OF   SINACHEUIB 


Book  VIII 


;  1 


occupied  with  architectural  works,  for  the  embellishraeut 
of  Nineveh,  his  chosen  residence,  and  the  erection  and 
restoration  of  temples  to  his  gods  —  a  work  which  claimed 
the  constant  care  of  every  Assyrian  monarch  in  the  inter- 
vals of  his  military  campaigns  and  especially  in  the  later 
years  of  his  reign.  Insurrections  of  a  minor  ch.aracter 
were  left  to  be  settled  by  his  generals.  It  is  possible  that 
his  natural  self-conlidence  made  him  careless  as  to  the  suc- 
cess of  attempts  against  his  pei-son  and  authority.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  his  life  and  tyranny  were  brought  to  a 
sudden  end  on  the  20th  of  Tebet  (December),  681  B.C.,  by 
a  conspiracy  and  insurrection  headed  by  two  of  his  sons. 

§  742.  Sinacherib,  on  account  of  his  prominent  place 
in  Old  Testament  history,  is  the  best  known  to  moderns 
of  all  the  kings  of  Assyria.  His  character  and  disposition, 
base,  harsh,  and  cruel  to  the  last  degree,  give  a  fair  indica- 
tion of  the  tendencies  of  unlimited  power  under  a  military 
regime  in  a  semi-barbaric  age.  Yet  Assyria,  as  a  nation, 
was  capable  of  some  progress  in  other  spheres  of  thought 
and  activity  than  those  of  mere  material  interest;  and 
Sinacherib  had  no  part  in  raising  it  above  the  level  to 
which  it  had  been  brought  by  his  great  predecessois  of 
the  century  that  closed  with  his  accession.  He  showed, 
indeed,  some  appreciation  of  art,  at  least  in  its  utilitarian 
applications.  His  new  canals  and  aqueducts^  were  numer- 
ous and  beneficent.  His  two  palaces'^  on  the  western  side 
of  Nineveh  were  larger  and  handsomer  than  any  which 
had  as  yet  adorned  the  city.  The  more  southerl}',  an 
arsenal  and  barracks,  built  of  hewn  stone,  followed  the 

with  this  expedition.  Tliat  is  to  say,  the  second  part  of  the  Biblical  nar- 
rative lias  to  do  with  occurrences  which  took  place  after  the  fall  of  Baby- 
lon in  089  and  not  in  7:^'.  The  assumption  is  supported  by  some  plausible 
arguments ;  but  apart  .'.  )m  other  difficulties  in  the  way  of  its  acceptance, 
it  is  hard  for  us  to  believe  that  facts  of  history,  which  were  so  notorious 
among  all  educated  circles  in  Israel,  could  have  been  wilfully  and  pub- 
licly so  distorted  by  the  sacred  writers. 

1  Bavian  InscriptiiMi,  lines  6  ff. 

'^  Taylor  Cylinder,  VI,  33  ff. ;  Constantinople  Cyl.  (I  R.44),  lines  65  ff. 


Ch.  VII,  §  743 


RESULTS   OF    HIS   POLICY 


m 


liar- 
}by- 
jible 
lice, 

liHlS 

lub- 


Syriaii  style  of  architecture,  which  his  father  had  also 
favoured  (§  737).  These  structures  could  not  compete  in 
grandeur  or  in  wealth  of  sculptural  embellishment  with 
the  magnificent  palace  erected  by  Sargon  at  Khorsabad 
(§  607).  But  they  were  notable  in  the  upbuilding  of  the 
city  which  was  to  become  the  greatest  repository  of  Assyr- 
ian civilization. 

§  743.  Other  illustrations  of  his  devotion  to  Nineveh 
wholly  repel  our  sympathy.  His  policy  of  centralism, 
narrow,  illiberal,  and  reactionary,  was  carried  out  not  only 
with  remorseless  cruelt}-,  but  with  injurious  results  to  his 
own  proper  kingdom,  which  he  sought  to  aggrandize.  His 
treatment  of  Babylonia  resembles  in  one  of  its  aspects 
the  policy  pursued  by  the  present  Sultan  of  Turkey 
towards  his  Christian  subjects.  In  another  it  reminds  us 
of  that  followed  by  Louis  XIV  towards  the  Protestants 
of  France.  It  was  disastrous  to  the  oppressed  and 
outraged  people ;  but  it  also  reacted  disastrously  uj)on 
himself  and  his  own  administration.  What  Assyria  needed 
most  was  the  refining  and  softening  influence  of  intel- 
lectual culture  and  of  genial  manners.  She  stood  now  at 
the  point  of  time  most  favourable  for  the  introduction  of 
milder  influences,  when  the  new  empire,  welded  together 
by  the  force  and  wisdom  of  his  predecessors,  might  have 
been  consolidated  on  the  basis  of  a  just  and  enlightened 
government.  Instead  of  utilizing  the  artistic  skill  and 
the  scientific  knowledge  of  the  Babylonians,  he  dis- 
couraged and  repelled  them.  Instead  of  seeking  to  con- 
ciliate that  ancient  nationality,  which  controlled  the  gate- 
ways to  the  sea  and  claimed  the  intellectual  homage  of 
the  world,  and  so  forming  an  august  united  empire,  he 
alienated  from  Assyria  the  elements  that  were  indis- 
pensable to  its  permanent  strength  and  safety.  The  two 
great  divisions  of  the  eastern  Semites  were  henceforth 
irreconcilable.  Babylonia  could  not  be  brought  to  tolerate 
Assyrian  leadersliip.  And  though  the  wise  son  and  sue 
cessor  of  Sinaeherib  reversed  this   wicked  and   suicidal 


u     * 


I     I 


3:52 


MAXXEU   OF   SINACIIKIUB'S   DEATH        Book  VIII 


policy,  its  moral  effect  was  never  obliterated.  When  two 
generations  later  Assyria's  hour  was  come,  the  Chaldieans 
took  their  share  in  the  terrible  work  of  vengeance. 

§  744.  Mean  and  unworthy  as  were  the  parties  and  the 
issues,  the  death  of  Sinacherib  rises  almost  to  the  dignity 
of  tragedy.  The  scene  and  the  action,  if  not  moving, 
have  at  least  a  fascination  of  their  own  as  an  illustration 
of  the  ways  and  fates  of  Oriental  royalty.  The  king  is 
alone  at  prayer  in  the  chapel  which  he  has  erected  for 
his  patron  god.  For  with  all  his  self-glorification  he  is  a 
humble  votary  of  the  deities  of  Nineveh,  and  especially  of 
Nusku,^  the  devastating  war-god  in  whom  he  sees  his  own 
fond  likeness.  Two  of  his  sons,  Nergal-sar-usur  ^  and 
Adarmalik,  one  of  them  a  pretended  heir  to  the  throne 
and  the  other  his  instrument,  have  been  stirring  up  an 
insurrection  in  Nineveh.  They  now  take  the  opportunity 
of  settling  the  whole  matter  of  the  succession  b}'  striking 
down  the  old  man  when  bowing  before  his  god.'^  Poetic 
justice  was  thus  meted  out.  But  justice  does  not  always 
nicely  choose  its  instruments ;  and  the  cause  of  the  young 
assassins  rightly  failed  to  connnand  success. 


'  So  road,  instciul  of  the  unintelligible  Xisrok  of  the  Massoretic  text 
of  2  K.  xix.  o7.  The  insertion  in  the  word  of  ■>,  as  accidental  repetition 
of  the  linal  consonant  i,  is  responsible  for  this  very  old  error.  The 
identitication  with  Xuskii  was,  1  think,  lirst  proposed  by  Halevy. 

-  The  Biblical  form  Sharezer  is  a  connnon  contraction.  Bab.  Chr.  Ill, 
34  f..  speaks  of  only  one  son  as  the  assassin. 

*  An  inconsiilerate  readins  of  2  K.  xix.  37  would  create  the  impression 
that  Sinaclierib's  death  nuist  have  occurred  very  soon  after  his  retirement 
from  I'aU'stine  instead  of  twenty  years  later.  And  so  Winckler  (GBA. 
258  ;  cf.  §  741,  note)  uses  the  pjissage  as  eviilence  in  favour  of  the  hypothesis 
that  such  was  actually  the  case.  But,  according  to  the  fashion  of  Hebrew 
narrative,  which  marked  but  slightly  historical  cause  and  effect  (cf.  §  4:15') . 
the  juxtaiiositiou  only  means  that  his  death  was  a  worthy  sequtl  to  his 
life,  which  the  foregoing  episode  had  duly  characterized. 


"I 

! 

»1 

I 


CHAPTER   VIII 


't .  ?l 


ESARHADDON,   BABYLONIA,   AND  EGYPT 

§  745.  The  revolt,  of  which  the  murder  of  the  king 
was  the  critical  episode,  was  not  in  itself  unwelcome  to 
the  people.  Hence  the  leaders  found  themselves  for  a 
time  at  the  head  of  a  large  following.  But  they  soon  had 
to  reckon  with  a  stronger  rival.  Esarhaddon  {Asshio'-ah- 
iddin:  "Asshur  has  given  a  brother")  was,  as  the  name 
implies,  not  the  eldest,  but  probably  the  second  son  of 
the  royal  house.  The  original  heir  to  the  throne  had  been 
carried  off  by  the  Elamites  (§  739)  thirteen  years  before, 
and  Esarhaddon,  as  the  destined  successor,  had  for  some 
time  borne  a  share  in  the  administration  of  the  empire. 
His  career  and  general  policy  as  a  monarch  show  that  he 
had  been  subjected  to  more  humanizing  influences  than 
those  which  had  controlled  his  father.  His  generous 
treatment  of  Babylonia,  and  his  keen  interest  in  its  affairs, 
suggest  that  he  had  had  a  prolonged  residence  in  that 
province,  and  that  he  may  have  been  its  administrator.  It 
is  not  clear,  however,  where  or  how  he  was  employed  when 
the  news  of  the  insurrection  reached  him.^  In  all  proba- 
bility, however,  he  was  in  the  northwestern  portion  of  the 
Assyrian  dominions  maintaining  order  in  the  turbulent 
provinces  of  that  region.  As  the  subject  is  of  Biblical  as 
well  as  Assyriological  importance,  a  sketcli  of  the  situation 
and  its  issue  will  not  be  out  of  place. 

1  Winckler,  GBA.  p.  ;i;)5,  remarks  that  according  to  Bab.  Chr..  Esar- 
haddon was  proclaimed  king  in  Babylonia  immediately  after  the  death  of 
Sinacherib.     But  the  Chronicle  makes  no  statement  to  this  effect. 

Qua 


A** 


Is        ' 


•;i 


■ft. 


hi     'I 


I 


334 


ESARIIADDOX'S   KEPORT 


Book  VIII 


§  740.  2  K.  xix.  37  (cf.  §  744)  says  of  the  young 
assassins  after  the  murder  of  Sinaeherib:  "they  escaped 
to  the  land  of  Armenia ;  and  Esarhaddon  his  son  reigned 
in  his  stead."  This  brief  notice,  given  in  the  concise 
style  which  marks  all  the  Biblical  allusions  to  extra- 
Israelitish  aftairs,  is  of  essential  value  in  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  story.  The  Babylonian  Chronicle  also  gives  us 
data  of  importance  for  the  leading  motives  of  the  revolu- 
tion :  ^  "  In  the  month  of  Tebet,  the  XX.  day,  Sinaeherib 
king  of  Assyria,  his  son  in  an  insurrection  slew  him. 
XXIII.  yeai-s  Sinaeherib  administered  the  kingdom  ^  of 
Assyria.  From  the  XX.  day  of  the  month  Tebet  until  the 
II.  day  of  the  month  Adar  the  insurrection  in  Assj-ria  held 
together.  In  the  month  of  Sivan,  the  XVIII.  day,  Esarhad- 
don his  son  seated  himself  in  Assyria  upon  the  throne." 
The  new  king's  own  report  of  the  action  taken  by  him  is  as 
follows :  3  "  Like  a  lion  I  raged ;  and  my  soul  *  was  in  a 
tumult.  To  administer  the  kingdom  of  my  father's  house, 
to  take  charge  of  my  priesthood,  towards  Asshur,  Sin, 
Samas,  Bel,  Nebo,  and  Nergal,  Ishtar  of  Nineveh,  and 
Ishtar  of  Arbela,  my  hands  I  lifted,  and  they  deferred  to 
my  words.  In  their  faithful  grace  an  encouraging  token 
they  sent  to  me :  '  Go !  Do  not  stop !  At  thy  side  we  are 
marching,  and  we  shall  subdue  thy  enemies.'  For  one 
day  and  ten  days  I  halted  not.''  I  did  not  see  the  faces 
of  my  troops.  I  did  not  look  backwards.  The  trappings 
of  the  hoi-ses  harnessed  to  the  yoke,  and  my  arms  and 
accoutrements,  ^  I  did  not  undo."  My  travelling  ...  I 
did  not  pour  out(?).     The  snow  and  ice  of  the  month 

'  nab.  Chr.  Ill,  34-38. 

-  The  regular  expression  for  "reigned." 

3  III  U.  15,  2  ff.  ;  cf.  AX/,  117,  etc.    See  Note  IG  in  Appendix. 

*  Litenally,  "my  liver." 

*  Literally,  "I  did  not  look  around";  cf.  Lotz,  Tiylathpileser  /,  p. 
112  f. 

'  Literally,  "  my  utensils  for  battle." 

"  The  original,  by  transposition  of  wedge-combinations,  has  the  im- 
possible form  a-iiu:(ur  instead  of  a-suh. 


Cii.  VIII,  §  747      FACTORS  OF  THE   SITUATION 


335 


n- 


oabut,  and  tlie  might  of  the  frost  I  did  not  fear.  Like  a 
sis'iH  bird  with  outspread  wings  to  overthrow  my  enemies 
I  stretched  out  my  hands.  The  way  towards  Nineveh 
hard  and  fast  I  marched.  Facing  me  in  the  land  of  Hani- 
rabbat,  the  whole  of  their  doughty  warriors  took  their 
stand  to  oppose  my  march,  and  drew  out  their  weapons. 
The  fear  of  the  great  gods  my  lords  overwhelmed  them : 
they  beheld  the  shock  of  my  mighty  onset,  and  they  became 
like  beaten  men.  Ishtar,  who  presides  over  war  and  battle, 
who  loves  my  priesthood,  stood  by  my  side,  broke  their 
bow,^  and  shattered  their  serried  array.  Through  all  their 
ranks  they  said:  'Let  that  man  be  our  king.'  At  her 
august  command  they  came  over  to  my  side  and  said  .  .  ." 
§  747.  Only  the  Biblical  account  mentions  the  "escape" 
of  the  assassins  to  Armenia.  The  phrase  evidently  points 
to  the  linal  result  of  the  civil  war.  For  according  to  the 
*'  Chronicle  "  the  insurgents  held  their  own  in  Nineveh  for 
about  a  month  and  a  half,  which  they  could  not  have  done 
if  their  leaders  had  taken  flight  at  once  after  the  murder. 
It  was,  however,  five  months  (from  Tebet  or  Decemljer,  681, 
to  Sivan  or  May,  680)  after  the  death  of  the  old  king,  that 
P^sarhaddou  was  proclaimed  in  Nineveh.  We  must  accord- 
ingly assume  that  the  loyal  party  in  Nineveh  or  their  troops 
in  the  neighbourhood  succeeded  in  suppressing  the  revolt 
in  the  city  itself  by  the  second  of  Adar  (February,  680), 
but  that  Esarhaddon  was  so  busily  occupied  with  the 
uprisings  outside  of  Ass3'ria  proper  that  he  was  only  free 
to  enter  the  city  in  peace  after  three  months  of  further 
action  in  the  field.  His  own  report  speaks  of  his  setting 
out  towards  Nineveh,  and  then  after  a  forced  march  in  the 
snows  and  frosts  of  January,  meeting  the  enemy  in  nortli- 
ern  Cappadocia  (where  "  Chanirabbat "  was  situated).  It 
is  thus  apparent  that  the  rebels  had  their  plans  carefully 
laid,  and  had  spread  the  disaffection  throughout  the  North 
Mesopotamian  country  over  which  Esarhaddon  had  to 
march.     The  success  of  the  legitinmte  claimant  was  accel- 


!  :-. 


A 


1 1 


1  I 


»  Cf.  Ts.  xlvi.  0  ;  Ixxvi.  .J. 


3;i{i 


ESAHllADDON'S  CAKEKK 


Book  VIII 


a 


ill 


eratetl  by  tlie  desertion  to  his  side  of  at  least  a  large  portion 
of  the  insurgent  army.  And  it  was  probably  the  news  of 
his  victory  tluit  caused  the  collapse  of  the  revolt  in  the  cap- 
ital. \Vh«'ther  the  pretender  and  his  brother  were  in  the 
defeated  army  or  not,  they  would  in  any  case  find  the  way 
to  Armenia  open  for  their  retreat.  Moreover,  a  sympa- 
thetic people  in  that  region  would  give  them  aid  and  com- 
iort.  The  reader  will  remember  the  alliances  between  the 
northeastern  and  northwestern  districts  of  the  Assyrian 
sphere  of  inlluence,  which  were  broken  by  Sargon  after 
strenuous  exertions  (§  020  ff.).  The  heroic  struggles  of 
the  Armenians  doubtless  lingered  in  the  memory  of  the 
older  generation,  and  the  younger  patriots  were  not  loath 
to  attempt  a  renewal  of  the  strife  with  the  help  of  Assyrian 
outlaws.  That  the  conflict  in  Armenia  was  at  any  time 
doubtful  is  hardly  probable.  But  Esarhaddon  naturally  im- 
proved the  opportunity  to  fasten  securely  the  bonds  that 
had  been  relaxed  under  Sinacherib.  Thus  the  time  was  oc- 
cupied until  he  could  safely  assume  the  crown  in  Nineveh. 
§  748.  The  comparatively  brief  reign  of  Esarhaddon 
(081^-068  H.c.)  was  memorable  for  two  great  events:  the 
rehabilitation  of  Babylonia  and  the  annexation  of  Eg3'pt. 
To  the  former  task  the  new  king  applied  himself  as  to  a 
labour  of  love.  His  twelve  j'ears  were  filled  with  impor- 
tant action,  but  he  never  lost  sight  of  the  claims  of  Babj-lon 
upon  his  attention  and  care,  and  of  the  duty  laid  upon  him 
to  undo,  as  far  as  might  be,  the  ruin  and  misery  wrought 
by  his  father.  As  soon  as  he  was  firmly  settled  upon  the 
throne  he  began  the  work  of  restoration.     The  state  of 

1  Strictly  speaking,  from  the  beginning  of  January,  (J80.  The  Babylo- 
nian (and  Hebrew)  year  begins  with  the  spring  etiuinox  in  Nisan  (March- 
April)  and  ends  with  Adar  (February-March).  Tebet,  the  tenth  month, 
on  the  twentieth  day  of  which  Sinacherib  died,  would  correspond  to  De- 
cember-January. A  similar  variation  of  notation  occurs  in  the  dating  of 
SariTon's  accession  (cf.  §  358  in  the  third  edition),  whose  reign,  strictly 
speaking,  began  with  January  of  721.  We  reckon  Esarhaddon's  reign 
from  the  death  of  his  father,  although  legally  there  was  no  king  ou  the 
throne  till  May,  080. 


,•1.1- 

itli, 

l)e- 

of 

ttly 


(11.  VIII,  )i7»'.»       UKSTdiJATloX   i>F    HAHYLoX 


sr, 


tilings  as  he  found  them  in  Babylon  may  be  described  in 
the  gnii)hic  hinguage  which  distinguishes  l»is  inscriptions 
above  those  of  all  his  predecessors :  *  '•  Esarhaddon,  king  of 
all  [teoples,  king  of  Assyria,  viceroy  of  IJabylon,  king  of 
Shumer  and  Akkad,  the  exalted  prince,  who  adores  Nebo 
and  Merodach.  liefore  my  time,  under  the  government  of 
a  former  king  in  Shumer  and  Akkad,  liostile  powers  had 
.  .  .  the  inhabitants  of  Babylon  .  .  .  had  laid  violent  hands 
on  Blt-elu,'-^  the  temple  of  the  gods,  and  had  sent  gold  and 
silver  anil  precious  stones  as  blackmail  to  Elam.^  Then 
iSIerodach,  the  lord  of  the  gods,  was  angry,  and  resolved  to 
lay  waste  the  land  and  to  destroy  its  peo})le.  The  canal 
Aralitu  .  .  .  like  a  deluge  it  came  over  the  city,  its  dwell- 
ings and  its  sacred  shrines,  and  made  them  like  waste  land. 
The  gods  and  goddesses  that  dwelt  therein  went  aloft  to 
the  lieavens.^  The  people  that  dwelt  therein  were  j)or- 
tioned  out  for  the  yoke  and  fetter,  and  went  into  exile. 
XI '^  years,  the  (mystical)  number  of  his  own  exaltation, 
had  the  merciful  Merodach  prescribed.  His  spirit  was  de- 
pressed and  dull;  he  stood  humbled,  for  lie  had  for  XI 
years  dismantled  its  dwelling-places.  Me,  Esarhaddon,  to 
restore  these  buildings  to  their  place,  thou  hast  invoked 
from  among  all  my  brothers." 

§  740.  The  pious  king  then  goes  on  ^'  to  ascribe  to  the 
patron  god  of  Babylon  his  triumph  over  his  rivals  and  ene- 
mies in  Assyria.  "  To  soothe  the  heart  of  thy  great  god- 
head and  to  tranquillize  thy  soul,  thou  didst  invest  me 

1  In  the  Hlack  Stono  Inscription  (III  H.  49),  col.  laud  II;  of.  §  740. 

2  See  note  to  §  74!». 

*  The  reffirnce  is  to  Snzul)  the  Chiiltln^an  (002  ii.r. ;  §  7;>l)).  Ksiir- 
haiUlon  wishes  to  spare  the  memory  of  his  father  anil  so  diminisli  tlie 
oiliiim  of  his  own  dynasty  in  IJabylonia. 

*  That  is,  they  abaiulniu'd  the  eartli  because  their  seats,  which  were 
inseparable  from  tiieir  divine  funetinns  i  §  57,  (51),  were  destroyed.  So  in 
the  Delude  .story  (line  108)  it  is  .saiil  that  the  gods  ascended  from  the 
desolated  earth  to  the  heaven  of  Ann,  or  the  liic;hest  heaven. 

0  "Kleven"  is  the  .symbolic  number  representative  of  Merodach,  as, 
for  example,  "  tiftei-n  "  symbolizes  Ishtar. 
0  III  R.  49,  col.  Ill,  IV. 


[I'l 


1! 


K^^ 


338 


THE   NEW   I'ltLICV    IN   HAHYLON' 


It<»(>K  VIII 


]  I 


with  the  sovereignty  of  Assyria."  In  the  lirst  year  of  his 
reign  he  proceeded  to  the  work.  In  addition  to  his  own 
sohUers  he  made  a  levy  of  workmen  from  all  Bahylonia. 
To  encourage  the  toilers,'  he  himself  wore  the  lal)ourer's 
cap,  the  hadge  of  servile  employment.  After  a  description 
of  the  preparations  and  the  materials  he  enthusiastically 
concludtts :  "  HIt-elu,  the  temple  of  the  gods,  and  its  sacreil 
shrines  r*'^  Babylon,  the  protected  city,^  Imgur-Bel  its  wall, 
Nemid-BeH  its  rampart,  from  their  foundation  to  their 
sunnnit  I  built  up  anew,  I  made  greater,  loftier,  and  more 
imposing.  The  images  of  the  great  gods  I  renewed,  and 
placed  them  in  their  sanctuaries.  I  tixed  in  i^erpetuity  the 
due  amount  of  their  revenue  which  had  fallen  in  abeyance. 
The  sons  of  Babylon  who  had  gone  into  exile,  and  had 
been  portioned  out  for  the  yoke  and  fetter,  I  gathered 
together  and  I  reckoned  them  as  Babylonian  citizens.  Its 
rights  as  a  protected  state  I  established  anew." 

§  750.  There  is  something  very  impressive  in  the  devo- 
tion of  the  son  of  Sinacherib  to  the  country  and  city  which 
his  father  had  oppressed  and  desolated.  It  was  a  master- 
stroke of  policy  that,  in  relinquishing  the  despotic  control 
which  Sinacherib  had  exercised,  he  should  have  called 
himself,  like  his  great  grandfather,  merely  the  vicegerent 
of  Babylon.  Nothing  could  have  so  greatly  tended  to 
restore  the  self-respect  of  the  outraged  i)eople  as  the  su- 
B  enthronement  of  their  nations 


pr 


godt 


1  Also  to  show  them  that  he,  as  well  as  they,  owed  service  to  their 
common  lortlH,  the  gods  of  Babylon. 

-  The  name  of  this  famous  temple  of  Merodach  (cf.  §  117)  I  still  write 
Ji'tt-dfi,  in  spite  of  the  correct  statement  of  Jensen  in  the  TltciiL  LiU- 
ratiir.-i'itiDig,  No.  20,  1805,  in  his  review  of  vol.  i  of  the  present  work,  to 
the  effect  that  Eii(tk(k)il<i  was  a  current  pronunciation.  The  analogy  of 
iil<-^fi««  confirms  the  view  that  lilt-rluwas  also  u.sed'.  Koth  forms  are 
good  Semitic  ;  see  note  to  §  117. 

"  That  is,  the  city  that  is  under  the  special  tutelage  and  care  of  Esar- 
haddon.     Cf.  Del.  AHW.  s.  v.  kknnn. 

*  The  names  of  the  two  famous  walls  of  Babylon.  Imgnr-Bel,  the 
Inner  wall,  means  "  Bel  is  propitious"  ;  Nemkl-Bel,  the  outer,  probably 
"the  station  of  Bel." 


Cii.  VIII,  siTJl 


IJAHVLUX   AND   NINKVEII 


aoo 


lied 

rent 

to 

su- 

ae- 


-sar- 


kiiowleclgment  by  their  suzerain  that  he  too  owed  all  his 
lights  among  them  to  the  grace  of  Nebo  and  Menulath. 
lie  was  doubtless  also  sincerely  convinced  of  the  rightful 
snitremacy  of  these  deities,  and  it  is  more  than  probalile 
that  ho  attributed  his  father's  ill-omened  ending  to  their 
just  vengeance  for  the  impiety  that  deposed  and  banished 
them  from  their  sacred  seats.  The  effect  of  tlie  restora- 
tion of  liabylon  and  its  temples,  its  defences,  its  trade,  its 
manufactures,  and  its  schools,  was  of  inestimable  imi)or- 
tance.  Henceforward  Nineveh  looked  to  Babylon  for  intel- 
lc(-tual  culture  and  inspiration,  while  Babylon  expected 
from  Nineveh  protection  guaranteed  by  religious  homage. 
Of  the  country  as  a  whole  Babylon  was  the  centre.  If 
we  wish  to  picture  to  ourselves  what  Babylonia  was  during 
the  eleven  yeai-s  of  Merodach's  humiliation,  we  may  think 
of  England,  with  London  reduced  to  ashes  and  the  diverted 
waters  of  the  Thames  overllowing  its  site. 

§  751.  The  eleven  years  of  Babylon's  desolation  ex- 
tended from  G8'J  ii.c.  (§  740)  till  G78.  The  renovation 
of  the  city,  or  at  least  of  the  walls  and  the  temples,  must 
therefore  have  occui)ied  the  greater  portion  of  the  lirst 
two  years  of  the  reign  of  Esarhaddon.^  But  this  did  not 
exhaust  his  activity  during  that  period.  Most  of  his  reign 
was  occupied  with  wars  outside  of  Babylonia,  mainly  in- 
tended to  conserve  the  bounds  of  the  empire  as  it  was  lixed 
by  Sargon.  In  Babylonia  itself,  while  busied  with  the 
work  of  restoration,  he  had,  though  but  for  a  brief  interval, 
to  repel  encroachments  from  the  side  of  the  Chaldieans. 
The  sons  of  the  great  Merodach-baladan  had  inherited  their 
father's  ambition  and  patriotism.  One  of  them  took  the 
throne  in  Bit-Yakin.     Upon  learning  of  the  death  of  Sin- 

1  We  must  not  suppose,  however,  that  within  this  period  the  task 
was  finished.  All  that  Ksaihaddon  could  ilo  was  to  see  the  work  so  well 
brought  forward  that  its  completion  could  be  left  to  others.  He  was  con- 
tent with  making  the  city  habitable  and  .secure.  Even  the  great  temple 
of  Merodach  was  not  made  tit  for  the  reception  of  Hel  and  the  other  gods 
of  Babylon  until  after  his  death,  when  they  were  brouglit  back  with  great 
pomp  aud  ceremony. 


1 


1; 


H 


■n- 


it 


i 


ill*ll« 


V 


■i 

1 

1 

1 

ill 


Ifi 


4 


ti' 


340 


CIIALD.KAXS   AND    KLAMITKS 


Hook  VIII 


{icheiil),  lie  org;ini/.ed  Jin  expedition  for  the  tlelivenince  of 
the  south-eouiitiy  from  the  hated  re;;iine.  lie  succeeded 
in  regiiininy^  the  lost  territory  as  far  north  as  Ur.  Hut  in 
679  he  retired  hefore  an  army  of  EsarhaddoUs  and  fled  to 
Elam.  Here  he  was  i)nt  to  death  by  the  king  of  that 
country,  o[)[)osed  though  all  the  rulers  of  Klam  were  to 
tiu!  Assyrian  coiKjuerors.  Another  brother  made  peace 
witli  Ksarhaddon,  and  in  accordance  with  the  new  policy 
i>f  conciliation,  he  was  appointed  to  rule  over  his  hereditary 
domains  for  the  Assyrian  over-lord.^  He  became  a  faithful 
vassal,  and  the  long  strife  between  the  Chaldjeans  of  the 
south-land  and  the  empire  of  the  Tigris  was  suspended  for 
nearly  a  generation. 

§  T')2.  Other  dilViculties  which  arose  in  the  settlement 
of  liabylonian  affairs  were  of  a  minor  character,  ami  their 
speedy  adjustment  tended  to  augment  the  general  tran- 
(luillity.  Even  with  Elam,  the  consistent  opponent  of 
Assyria's  intervention  in  liabylonia,  Esarhaddon  succeeded 
after  a  few  years  in  establishing  a  nioihix  viri'iidi.  The 
king  who,  strangely  enough,  had  i)Ut  to  death  the  fugitive 
son  of  Merodach-baladan  in  r>79,  made  a  murderous  laid 
upon  the  ill-fated  city  of  Sipi)ar  in  074  (cf.  ^  780).  But 
on  his  death  in  the  following  year  his  successor  made 
peace  with  the  ruling  power  in  liabylonia  in  the  way  most 
expressive  of  ])ropitiation  aiul  good-will.  He  sent  back  to 
the  city  of  Akkad,  which  was  still  a  religious  centre,  if  not 
a  distinct  conununity  ( );•  94),  images  of  ishtar  and  other 
deities  which  had  been  taken  thence  to  lOlam.- 

§  70'{.  These,  however,  were  matters  left  to  Ik»  settled 
W'*;hout  the  personal  intervention  of  l^saihaddon,  who 
trusted  to  the  new  [lolicy  in  the  southeast  to  work  out  its 

The  time  at  length  seemed  pro- 


own  Itenelieedt  results 


»  Rab.  Chr.  Ill,  30  ff,  ;  I  «.  45  (Cyl.  A),  col.  TI.  .32  ff. ;  III  fl.   15 

(nnikfii  CvliiKlrr  U\  col.   II.  I  li. 

•  Tliu  tlii»loiimtic  .siijnilicance  of  tlti><  cvein  in  iiuUoated  by  itH  beiiii; 
recorded  in  llu"  brief  llnliylunian  t'iirouicli.',  with  the  exact  date  (ttiuli  oi 
Adii''^.     See  Col.  IV,  '.t,  IT  t'. 


i 


i;.  1.-. 


Cii.  VIII.  §754 


SIDON  AND  TYKE 


;'.4i 


pitious  for  settling  the  long-neglected  afTairs  of  the  West- 
liind.  Here  the  IMui-niciau  states  first  claimed  his  atten- 
tion. How  pressing  was  the  need  of  his  intervention  may 
l)e  inferred  from  the  fact  that  he  had  been  less  than  two 
years  upon  the  throne  when  he  relinijuished  the  over-sight 
of  l{abyh)nia,  and  lieaded  an  ex[)edition  against  Tyre  and 
SidoM.  'J'he  latter  city  had  been  made  by  Sinaciherib  an 
«>I)j('ct  of  peculiar  care.  It  had  Ijcen  his  policy  to  aggnui- 
dizt!  and  strengthen  it  as  a  rival  to  Tyre,  whose  sul)jection 
he  had  vainly  sought  to  acconii)lish  in  701  ii.c.  (§  OhO  ff.). 
Sidon  had  indeed  i)erformcd  good  service  for  Assyria  dur- 
ing the  years  that  followed  th(!  expedition  of  that  memo- 
rable year:  for,  as  has  been  pointed  out  (>;  tJyS),  the  five 
years'  war  against  Tyre  could  (»nly  have  been  carried  on 
by  IMioMiician  cities,  ships,  and  sail(<rs,  of  wh(»m  Sidon  took 
the  lead.  The  unnatural  vassalage  had  since  been  fore- 
sworn, and  the  ancient  rival  of  Tyre  was  now  to  be  found 
arrayed  with  her  against  the  connnon  taskmaster.  But  its 
sturdy  independence  could  not  now  be  longer  maintained. 
It  soon  fell  before  the  attack  of  Ksarhaddon  {^uX  u.c. ). 
'J'hus  the  reviving  hope  of  the  return  of  its  ancient 
spleiulour,  which  had  been  inspired  b}'  the  favouring  [)(»1- 
icy  (tf  one  Assyrian  king  was  ([UiMudu  1  by  the  roseut- 
ment  of  his  siu'ccssor.  While  Assyria  remained  an 
emitire,  Sidon  a[)peared  no  longer  even  among  the  tril)U- 
tary  states.  In  its  jilace  a  new  city  was  erected  and 
named  "  Ksarhaddonsburg."  ■ 

Jj  Tr)4.  lUit  Tyre  rem;uned  what  it  long  had  been,  not 
merely  the  leading  PhoMiician  state  in  wealth  and  enteri)rise, 
but  a  stid)born  (sbstatrle  to  the  vast  designs  of  the  Assyrian 
kings.  I']x[)cctiug  a  prolongc<l  resistance,  Ksarhadiloii  con- 
tt'iited  himself  with  a  land  Ijlockade  and  jtostponed  thf 
regidar  siege  till  he  iiiid  got  well  under  way  the  ex|)editioii 
to  Egypt.  Hy  this  nii«h'rt:dviMg  he  was  to  assert  most 
signally  the  sui)remacy  of  Asshur.  and   at  the  same  time 

'  The  cnplurc  of  Sidon  ami  (in  075)  of  its  fuuitive  liiiij;  are  relivlcd  iit 
V  K.  io  (Cyl.  A)  col.  I,  10  IT.     For  'iif  daU'S  see  IJab.  Chr.  IV,  3,  0. 


1  ■    t 


It         'll 


A     f 


!i; 


!»' 


'ij 


Mil 


342 


CAMPAIGNS   IX   ARADIA 


Book  VIII 


,!  I 


ti(« 


■ 


to  fix  the  extreme  western  limit  of  his  march  of  conquest. 
To  make  the  descent  ui)on  Kgypt  more  certain  of  success, 
two  preliminary  enterprises  were  undertaken.  These  were 
both  directed  against  the  nomads  of  the  desert  of  Arabia, 
and  Esarhaddon  in  his  reports  seems  to  lay  as  great  stress 
upon  his  success  among  these  people  Jis  \x\)0\\  the  conqucbt 
of  Egypt  itself.  Two  elements  in  his  achievement  were 
of  special  significance.  One  was  his  overcoming  the 
enormous  difliculties  of  a  desert  march.  lie  describes  tlie 
long  and  toilsome  journey,  the  heat  and  drought,  the  ter- 
rible monsters  who  infested  his  route.  This  achievement 
was  characteristically  Assyrian,  and  indicative  of  the  un- 
conquerable spirit  of  enterprise  and  endurance  which  had 
created  the  empire  of  the  Tigris  out  of  mountains  and 
wildernesses  as  well  as  valleys  and  fruitful  fields.  The 
other  and  the  principal  ground  of  self-gratulation  was  the 
fact  that  by  these  ventures  the  (ireat  King  made  himse)*^ 
master  of  the  regions  which  served  as  a  recruiting  groui  1 
for  Egypt,  and  were  the  home  of  tribes  ready  for  fray  and 
foray  on  the  borders  of  Assyrian  territory.  These  desert 
campaigns  enable  us  to  understand  better  the  persistent 
attempts  of  Tiglathpileser  (§  334),  Sargon  (J;  630),  and 
Sinacherib  (J;  741;  cf.  i^  706)  to  control  the  peninsula  of 
Sinai  and  northern  Aralna  generally. 

§  75.").  Esiuhaddon,  with  the  largeness  of  aim  peculiarly 
his  own,  and  knowing  the  mobility  and  restlessness  ot"  the 
sons  of  the  desert,^  (hitermined  to  render  all  Arabia  liann- 
liss  and,  if  jiossible,  friendly  to  him  in  his  government  cf 
the  west.  Tlie  first  expedition  (^07")  n.c.)  was  directed 
against  certain  troublesome  tribes  in  the  interior  of  Arabia.- 

'  lUustriiti'd,  for  cxiiinjik',  h\  tlio  iiivailcrs  nf  Palt'sliiic  in  tlic  days  of 
(lUlemi  (.liul.  vi.).  We  imist  luit  suppose  that  tlicsi'  wiri-  "  .Midiuuiti'S  " 
aloiio,  tlimmli  tlic'v  won*  doubtk'SH  tlu;  inoviiii^  spirits  by  whom  iiitt'i- 
iiiediatf  tribes  were  jtuslied  onwards,  like  the  Hyltsos  of  tiie  olden  time 
in  K^^vpt  (4  L'ttlf.). 

-  I  K.  40,  col.  Ill,  •_'.■)  If.  For  the  date  see  Bab.  Cjir.  IV,  o  :  "  In  tlip  flftli 
year  on  the  second  (hiy  of  Teshrit  (.September)  the  king  of  Assyria  look 
the  road  to  th«  de.sert." 


Ch.  VIH,  §  755         THE   TENIXSULA   OF   SINAI 


343 


east  and  southeast  of  the  Gulf  of  Akaba.*  According  to 
the  official  record  he  "  marched  over  140  double-leagues 
of  desert  ground  with  thickets  and  gazelle-mouth  stones, 
20  double-leagues  of  serpents  and  scorpions,  which  covered 
the  earth  like  grasshoppers,"  besides  20  miles  of  stony 
mountain  territory.  The  other  campaign  was  executed  in 
074,  and  had  for  its  object  the  reduction  of  the  Sinaitic 
peninsula.'^  It  was  successfully  accomplished  by  the  sub- 
mission of  the  tribes;  and  tlie  surrender  of  their  leader, 
Hazael,  king  of  the  "  Arabs,"  who  had  submitted  to  Sinach- 
erib  (§  741),  was  further  instrumental  in  clearing  the  way 
for  Esarliaddon  in  his  designs  against  Egy[)t.  Knowing 
the  reasonable  and  conciliatory  disposition  of  the  Assyrian 
monarch,  he  entreated  him  to  restore  his  national  and  tribal 
palladium,  the  gods  which  had  been  taken  from  hira  by 
his  predecessor.  The  request  was  granted.  The  heart  of 
the  doubly  bereaved  king  was  also  made  glad  by  tlie  release 
of  the  i)rincess  Tabua,  who  was  raised  to  royal  rank  along 
with  Hazael.''  An  important  additional  result  of  all  these 
transactions  was  to  deprive  Egypt  not  only  of  her  former 
allies,  but  also  of  much  of  her  lucrative  trade  (cf.  §  o34). 

1  Bilzn,  the  principal  point  of  attack,  is  identified  by  Delitzsch,  I'ar. 
.TO7,  witli  the  "Unz"  (more  probably  lloz)  of  tlie  Hible,  the  birthplace 
of  Eliliu,  Job  xxxii.  2;  cf.  Jer.  xxv.  2:5  and  (Jen.  xxii.  21.  Jlazfi,  the 
nioinitaiM  land  above  referred  to,  i.s  identified  by  him  with  "Hazo"  of 
( jen.  xxii.  22.  These  distriets  are  located  by  (Jla-ser,  Skiz-zp  iter  (ieschkhle 
nnd  iii'ixjynphie  Arnhipiis.  II,  2(55  ff.  (IHIM)),  in  the  region  of  Yemilnia. 

-  "  Melnciia."  the  objective  i)(>iiif,  i.s  (cf.  Winckler,  GUA.2tir))  a  desii;- 
iiation  fur  nortliwe.^^ilern  Arabia.  Tlie  most  .strikini;  evidence  is  that  with 
Ma^an  (which,  it  is  agreed  on  all  hands,  stands  for  Nortiieast  Arabia)  it 
IS  used  as  an  e(|nivalent  of  North  .\rabi;i  trenerally:  p.ij.  V  U.  l,r»2:  cf.  vj'.Kl. 

■■'  This  double  royalty  is  tiioii^'ht  by  Winckler  to  "put  tlie  pheiionieiicm 
(if  female  sovereii;nty  in  its  rif,'ht  lii;ht  "  ((illA.  p.  2ti7).  It  is  more  likely, 
however,  that  this  and  the  similar  usau'e  referred  to  by  him  as  exi.stiiiR 
aiiu)!!!?  the  Xabatjeans,  represent  the  transition  stas,'e  between  a  sole 
female  reipn  as  a  survival  of  the  primitive  matriarchate  and  a  sole  male 
reii^n  (cf.  W.  U.  Smith,  Kinshi)>,  p.  104,  171).  The  prevalence  of  a 
supreme  quoeiwhip  throuf^hnut  the  Aral'iaii  desert  from  Palmyra  to  Sheba 
cannot  be  accounted  for  on  the  hypothesis  of  an  exti'iision  of  the  royal 
functions  from  king  to  (lueen.    See  if  general  §  •12;{  and  cf.  §  334. 


f 


0 


\i\ 


.  V  •     ■     j      » 


1 


1 1  (<" 


344 


CONQUEST  OF   EGYPT 


Book  VIII 


'U 


Hi    i\. 


§  756.  "  111  the  seventh  year  on  the  fifth  day  of  Adar 
the  troops  of  Assyria  inarched  into  Egypt."  "In  the 
tenth  year  in  the  month  Nisan  the  troops  of  Assyria 
marched  against  Egypt."  *  So  run  the  notices  of  the 
Babylonian  chronicler  The  expedition  of  the  end  of 
073  was  apparently  soon  abandoned  as  premature  after 
crofing  the  border.  But  in  670  the  decisive  movement 
was  made.  The  same  Tirhaka,  who  had  taken  part  in  the 
events  of  701  (.5  693  f.),  was  still  at  the  head  of  this 
Ethiopian  twenty-fifth  dynasty.  Thus,  even  if  pretexts 
for  a  justifiable  invasion  had  been  wanting,  the  attack 
upon  the  troops  of  Sinacherib  could  be  cited.  As  the 
sequel  shows,  Esarhaddon  did,  in  fact,  treat  the  Egyptians 
as  an  old  and  inveterate  foe.  We  may  fairly  assume  that 
they  were  giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the  Phieiiician  insur- 
gents. Though  not  fully  informed  of  the  details  of  tlie 
campaign,  we  are  able  to  time  the  principal  stages  and 
events.  Leaving  Nineveh  in  Nisan,  Esarhaddon  reached 
Palestine  early  in  Si  van  (May-June).  After  reconnoiter- 
ing  before  Tyre  (§  7o4),  he  mustered  his  troops  at  Ai)hek, 
near  Samaria,  for  the  invasion.  Kaphia,  near  the  Kiver 
of  Egypt,  the  conventional  bimndary  of  Egypt,  is  noted 
as  one  of  the  stations.  The  first  battle  was  fought  at 
Ischupri  on  Egyptian  soil.'^  The  march  thence  to  Mem- 
phis occupied  fifteen  days'^  —  an  undue  length  of  time, 
whic'li  im[)lies  steady  resistance  by  the  retreating  Tirhaka 
to  the  Assvrian  advance.  Battles  were  fourjht  on  the 
third,  the  sixteenth,  ami  the  eigliteenUi  of  Tammuz  (June- 
July).  On  the  twenty-second,^  .Mem[)liis  was  taken  alter  a 
siege  of  lialf  a  day.''    The  famous  old  city  was  plundered  and 

'  Hah.  Chr.  IV,  10,  2;{.  Notice  the  accuracy  with  which  the  crossiiiL' 
of  tlie  Ejcyptian  bonier  (the  "River  of  Eeypt")  w<is  recorded. 

■^  K.  3082 ;  308(5 ;  S.  2027.  See  Bud^'e,  Hist,  of  Esarhaddon,  i>. 
Ill  ff. 

'  Stoic  of  Slnjirli. 

♦The  Hab.  Chr.  IV.  20  say.s  "the  twelfth,"  but  this  is  probably  a 
scribal  vrvm-. 

*  Bab.  Chr.  IV,  24  If.     Stele  of  Siujirli. 


i^^ 


^ 


11 


Cir.  VIII,  §757 


UKSISTAN'CE   OF  TYHK 


345 


destroyed,  while  Tirliuka  tied  to  hib  Ethiopian  father-land. 
The  whole  of  Lower  and  Upper  Egypt  now  subniilted 
without  a  blow.  A  thoroughly  Assyrian  administration 
was  introduced,  though  in  such  a  fashion  as  not  entirely  to 
([uench  patriotic  self-respect.  Native  Egyptians,  who  had 
been  in  most  cases  viceroys  under  Tirhaka  (cf.  §  347  f.), 
were  appointed  to  rule  nominally  with  direct  resi)onsi- 
bility  to  the  (heat  King.  lUit  the  real  administrators 
were  the  Assyrian  ollicials,^  who  were  in  constant  and 
close  communication  with  the  Ninevite  court. 

§  757.  It  is  passing  strange  that  the  great  warrior  and 
statesman  before  whom  fell,  after  a  brief  campaign,  the 
empire  of  the  Nile,  should  liave  been  bailled  by  the  resist- 
ance of  a  single  city.  But  true  it  is,  that  Tyre  could  not 
be  reckoned  among  the  Ass3'rian  con([uests  till  after  the 
death  of  Esarhaddon.  Certainly  the  blockade  (§  7")4) 
was  strictly  maintained.  But  through  tlie  nature  of  its 
plan  of  defence  which  Sinacherib  had  found  too  hard  to 
overcome  (§  G83),  it  was  long  in  a  position  to  defy  its 
besiegers.  The  island  city,  though  cut  ott"  from  its  proper 
territory  on  the  mainland,  could  obtain  supplies  from  its 
colonies,  througli  its  command  of  an  element  whose  posses- 
sion was  destined  to  remain  an  unrealized  dream  of  Assyr- 
ian ambition.  Esarhaddon,  indeed,  or  an  oljseiiuious  artist, 
has  left  a  monumental  representation '-^  of  a  triumi)h  over 
Ba'al,  the  Tyrian  king.  But  his  inscriptions  more  truth- 
fully omit  the  name  of  Tyre  from  the  list  of  vassals. 
This  memorial  of  Esarhaddon's  western  cami)aigns  is  ap- 
proja-iately  set  up  at  tiie  meeting-place  of  the  south  and 


I: 


'  Essential  iiiforniiUion  :is  to  tlic  AsHyriaii  adiuinistratfun  vvi'  obtain 
troiii  vcfort'iiivs  of  AsHlmrliaiiipal,  V  !{.  1  and  '-'. 

-On  tilt'  stcli'  of  Snijirli.  wlnrc  iJa'ai  is  cxliiliittil  as  kin-cliii'.:  before 
Ksarliadtb'ti  and  bi',i;>,'ini:  tor  nuicv,  witii  a  linii  tliioiii;ii  iii-  iips.  atlatlit*! 
to  a,  cord  in  tlie  hands  of  tlie  Great  Kinn.  'I'irlialia  also,  wlii>  escaped 
to  Kthiopia  '!>  ~'<i^\  is  represented  in  i  similar  altitude.  Cf.  Winekler, 
'iBA.  ,".  a*4.  Probably  them'  tn-ures  ainu'd  at  .seitini;  fortii  wliat  wa.s 
I»>tenti4illy  I'orrpct  ;  namely,  that  ICsurbaddua  was  able  to  put  tluni  in  that 
>ituatiiin  if  lie  only  iiad  the  opportuiuiy  ! 


II 


f 


A 


r  \i 


^r.' 


III 


«  i 


\  ' 


'111 


\  ^' 


i.l. 


I) 


il' 


^•7 1' 


i 

i 


r 

, », 
f 


340 


THE   KIMMERIANS 


Book  VIII 


tlie  north,  and  thus  faithfully  s  /mbolizes  his  authority  and 
tlie  range  of  his  dominion. 

§  708.  In  defending  and  maintaining  his  northern 
boundary,  Esarhaddon  achieved  a  success  not  the  least 
among  the  triumphs  of  his  brilliant  career.  The  enemy 
that  threatened  from  the  north  were  the  far-famed  Kim- 
merians  —  to  name  them  according  to  the  spelling  of  the 
Greek  authors."  They  are  rightly  described  by  Herodo- 
tus -  as  having  lived  north  of  the  Black  Sea,  whence  they 
had  been  dislodged  by  the  Scythians.  Late  in  the  eighth 
century  B.C.  they  descended,  probably  over  the  Caucasus, 
into  Armenia.  Thence  they  spread  southeastward  and 
westward  and  came  within  the  Assyrian  sphere  of  influ- 
ence, where  they  were  known  as  Gimirre.  Thus,  also, 
they  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Bible  writers,  who 
have  spoken  of  them  as  Gomer^  (Gen.  x.  2  f. ;  1  Chr. 
i.  5  f. ;  Ez.  xxxviii.  6 ;  Sept.  Va^iep).  They  were  of  Indo- 
European  race,*  and  were  apparently  aware  of  kinship 
with  the  Medians  (^Madai)  ;  for  in  their  southeastern  divis- 
ion they  allied  themselves  with  the  latter,  along  with  the 
people  of  Van  (^Maunai)/'     There  seems  to  be  no  doubt 

'  'riicsf  wt>rc  Idiii;  known  to  the  Greoks  for  the  myth  which  aRrribed 
to  them  ail  abode  in  darkm'ss  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  ocean  (Od.  xi.  14) 
is  based  upon  the  fact  of  their  residence  beyond  the  Euxine. 

-  i.  1'),  104:  iv.  11,  12.  Amonii  tlie  many  identitications  that  have 
been  madr,  we  may  leave  aside  the  Ci^nhri  and  the  C'ljmrij,  nnd  retain  the 
local  reminiscence  perpetuated  in  the  Crimen. 

■'  These  people  have  naturally  attracted  much  attention  from  scholars. 
Hesides  the  comments  on  tiie  Bible  puossases,  the  most  notable  discussions 
are  ZDMd.  XXIV,  7''.  t«2  ;  XXVI.  (Jhi>;  Lafjarde.  (icsammclte  Ahkand- 
hniiii'ii.  254;  MitthrHnni/m,  I,  227;  ArmeniHche  Studicn.  ^  448;  \h- 
lifzsch.Par.  24r>f.  ;  Hommel.  (JBA.  721  ff.  ;  Tiele,  (JAB.  .m  f.  ;  Wimkler, 
(iHA.  2<>7  tf.  ;  Saycc,  liahyliniinn  LUfinttiiri',  78  ff.  j  Tln^  Iliyhfr  t'vUi- 
riKiii  and  the  Monuments,  p.  l%i  it. 

'  And  so  named  in  Gen.  x.  among  the  sons  of  Tnphet,  along  with  the 
Lyilians,  Medes,  Ionian-;,  and  Thrweians.  In  Kzekiel  they  an- spoken  of 
as  nomads,  an<l.  "erhaps,  also  by  Ksarhaddon  himself  in  I  U.  4<"i.  .-ol.  II,  »>, 
who  refers  t  tlieir  kin^  TeiiSpil  as  a  •'  Mnndu  (Scythian)  warrvr  whi>m» 
home  is  remote." 

'  S.  2006  and  K.  4008,  transcribed  in  Sayce,  Uabyl.  Lit.  I.e. 


Ch.  VIII,  §  TJl) 


KI.MME.tlANS   UKl'ULSED 


347 


Ml  tli<> 

ken  (I 

11,  «l, 

|\vh(>80 


al)()Ut  the  general  locality  of  this  remlezvous,  since  we 
know  that  the  Medians  were  settling  to  the  east  and 
northeast  of  Assyria  proper  (^  248,  311),  and  that  the 
.Mannai  ^  dwelt  on  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Urmia. 

§  7oO.  Here,  then,  we  have  a  combination  of  kindred 
tribesmen  bearing  down  upon  the  ancient  civilizations  of 
the  south,  a  forerunner  of  more  formidable  inroads  yet  to 
come.  Tile  apprehension  excited  in  Nineveh  by  this  new 
enemy  appearing  where  Assyria's  hardest  struggles  had 
always  been  waged  was  (juite  extraordiiuuy.  For  one 
hundred  daN-s  the  priests  were  bidden  to  sacrilice  and  [iray 
for  their  defeat.  It  would  seem  that  the  supplications  were 
answered,  foi  it  is  apparently  to  the  same  critical  juncture 
that  the  Babylonian  chronicler  refers  when  he  says  of  the 
fourth  year  of  Ksarhaddou :  "The  (Jimirre  came  into 
Assyria,  and  in  Assyria  they  were  defeated."  ^  'I'he  refer- 
ence liere,  of  course,  is  to  the  Assyrian  territory  in  the 
wider  sense,  which  was  held  to  extend  northwai'd  to  the 
Lakes.  Evidently  the  dreaded  foe  had  come  well  over 
the  border.  It  is  very  improbable  that  the  western  division 
of  these  undesiral)le  immigrants  came  directly  into  contact 
with  the  Assyrians  under  Esarhaddon.''  Their  time  for 
action  had  not  yet  come.  lint  they  helped  to  make  the 
northwest  provinces  still  more  lax  in  their  attachment  to 
the  empire  of  the  Tigris.  On  the  whole,  their  significance 
was  rather  i>rcnu)nitory  than  direct  and  immediate.  It  is 
plain  that  Esarhadilon  had  measured  their  potential  capa- 
city for  mischief  and  found  their  appearance  upon  the 
scene  anything  but  reassuring. 


'  Tilt.'  "Mimii"  of  .lor.  li.  27,  wIumc  tlicy  arc  also  closely  associated 
with  tiie  .Mitlis. 

-  Hab.  Clir.  IV,  2.  'i'hc  name  of  tiie  em  iiiy  is  siipplietl  by  tlif  acute 
.>ii^'u'estioii  of  Wiiiekler. 

•'  It  has  been  supposed  (p.ij,  I'ar.  24.'))  that,  the  defeat  of  tin'  Kimme- 
rians  iiiciitioiu'd  by  KsarhaiMon  in  I  K.  4.'>  (cf.  noti'  4  jirectdim;)  was 
inllicttd  in  Cappadocia.  lint  lliiliiisifi  tiiert'  mentioned  nnist  be  an  error 
fnr  IJuhuiik'ia  in  the  northern  bonU-r  of  Assyria  i)roper  —  a  continuation, 
in  fai't.  of  the  situation  as  made  out  for  the  strug^'le  in  the  east. 


IrS 


\   ''■ 


1:1  ' 

i 

» 

i 

1 

1 

(J 


i!  lii 


I""' 


!^  » 


li 


J48 


(».M1N(>US  CONDITIONS 


Book  VIII 


§  7t!<>.  There  is  iiotliinjj  more  striking'  (ir  instructive 
ill  all  Oriental  history  tlian  the  situation  which  we  are 
now  contom[>latiiig.  After  incredible  toil  .  lul  sacrifice 
Assyria  has  arrived  at  the  sunnnit  of  her  power.  Ilcr 
wise  and  strenuous  king  has  profited  by  all  the  errors  of 
the  i)ast.  He  has  introduced  a  larger  and  surer  method 
of  goverinnent,  conciliated  the  disaffected,  consolidated 
the  old  possessions,  and  added  to  the  realm  the  most  val- 
uable of  all  the  known  regions  of  the  earth.  And  just  as 
he  is  laying  the  capstone  u[)on  the  colossal  structure,  the 
work  of  underminins'  the  foundation  becfins.  True,  the 
emi>ire  endures  for  sixty  years  longer,  and  for  a  great  por- 
tion of  that  period  Assyria  is  still  in  its  pride  (Zech.  x.  11). 
Hut  mark  that  it  maintains  itself  oidy  l)y  its  superiority  to 
the  older  enfeebled  races  of  the  south.  It  is  of  little  per- 
manent moment  that  in  its  forward  march  the  line  of  least 
resistance  foHows  the  valhsy  of  the  Nile.  Its  hold  upon 
the  stubborn  north,  now  being  perpetually  reinforced  by 
bands  of  sturdy  aliens  from  beyond  the  inland  .seas,  is 
gradually  relaxed.  Another  expedition  *  against  the  re- 
moter nortlieast  availed  at  least  for  the  spoiling  and  in- 
timidation of  the  Median  confederates.  Hut  the  waves 
thus  rolled  back  returned  again  stronger  than  before,  the 
precursors  of  the  long  lines  of  breakers  which  were  at 
length  to  submerge  the  last  defences  of  the  outworn  and 
exhausted  empire. 

v?  7<)1.  The  suppression  of  a  conspiracy  in  Nineveh  in 
<U)'.'-  and  a  final  expedition  to  Kgypt  in  6<'»8  bring  to  a 
close  the  active  career  of  Ksarhaddon.  The  last-named 
enterprise  cost  him  his  life.  According  to  the  chronicler, 
''  In  the  twelfth  year  the  kini;  of  Assyria  marched  against 
Kgypt.  Fj)on  the  way  he  took  sii'k,  and  in  the  month 
Marclu'svan,  on  the  tenth  day,  he  died."  His  few  years  of 
sovereignty  were  full  of  action,  crowned  with  rare  success. 


>  I  H.  4tt.  col.  IV.  S  IT.;  Ill  H.  KJ,  rol.  IV.  1  ff. 

-  U.ib.  Chr.  IV.  I'lt:  '•  In  the  ek'vtiitli  \v\w  the  king  (remained)  in  As- 
syri.i.     Miiuy  nobles  lie  put  to  deiUh  with  tlic  sword." 


I  '  i 


1 


Cri.  VIII,  §  702     ACIIIF-VEMENTS   OF  ESAUIIADDnN 


a40 


IIu  left  his  vast  (loiniiiioiis  with  a  fairer  show  of  prosperity 
and  safety  than  the  Assyrian  reahu  had  ever  presented  at 
the  demise  of  any  of  his  predecessors.  What  is  perhaps  of 
most  significance  is  the  fact  that  within  the  Semitic  domain 
—  the  trne  province  of  a  nnited  j::fovernment  —  no  grave 
insnrrections  were  set  on  foot.  Only  snch  conMnnnilies 
were  as  yet  intractable  which  enjoyed  a  means  (»f  esca[)e 
from  the  soldiers  of  Asshnr.  Tiie  Tyrians  li;id  an  ontlet 
to  the  sea;  the  Arabs  to  the  desert.  The  West-land  was 
in  his  days  at  last  entirely  (jniescent.  'I'ime  and  nnrelax- 
ing  pressure  had  there  done  the  work  which  had  before 
been  wrought  throughout  Syria  (5^  -04,  807,  88.V).  and  ear- 
lier still  in  Mesojjotamia  (v^  ITM  f.,  21S).  "Manasseh  of 
Judah"  (!^  71*8  tV.),  the  son  of  the  rebel  Ile/.ekiah,  was 
among  hi><  voluntary  vassals,  along  with  the  ruh'is«»f  Kdom, 
Moab,  and  Annnon,  (laza,  Askalon,  Ekron,  A>hdnd.  and 
the  princes  of  IMioMiicia,  all  of  whom  he  coulil  summon 
to  furnish  materials  for  the  building  of  liis  palaces.* 

i;  762.  In  the  intervals  of  liis  campaigns  Esarhaddon 
also  found  time  to  illustrate  his  taste  for  art  and  archi- 
tecture. The  great  rebuilding  of  nal)ylon  (§  749)  was  at 
least  inaugurated  under  his  general  direction.  His  own 
city  received  new  and  splendid  additions.  His  '•  South- 
west Palace,"  in  Nebi  Yunus,  exceeded  in  size  and  mag- 
nificence that  of  Sinacherib,  \\hich  it  was  intended  to 
su[)ersede.  He  named  it  "the  storehouse  of  all  things." 
inasnuich  as  it  was  both  palace,  arsenul,  museum,  and  gallery 
of  art.  To  another  palace  at  Kalach  lie  sdinewhat  irrev- 
erently transferred  the  monnnienlal  inscriptions  of  Tiglath- 
pileser  HI  (i;  341 ).  This  structure,  still  incomplete  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  bore  the  proud  iiiscrii)tion  ••  king  of  the 

1  III  K.  1(5,  col.  V.  l;!  If.  (cf.  I  H.  47.  ml.  V.  11).  Tn  these  were  aiM.-d 
ten  princes  of  tlio  islaml  of  t'ypni.s.  iiiiikini;  t\vciiiy-t\vo  in  all,  acccinliiin 
to  his  own  enuincralioii.  We  iieeil  not  lie  surpri.seil  to  lliitl  Ila'al.  kiin;  of 
Tyre,  ainoiiu  the  number,  for  he  was  iiuite  willini;  to  furui.sh  an  ordinary 
rate  of  trii)nt(>,  arnl  only  ohjerted  to  losini:  his  inflepemlfnce  (of.  §  'is;;). 
That  K.sarhaihlon  looked  clo.sely  after  his  provinces  in  the  \Ve.st-land  wc 
may  infer  from  Kzru  iv.  2 ;  cf.  -1  K.  xvii.  24  fT.  (§  709). 


I     ■ 


w 


i  i 


1  - 


! 

1 

Hill 

350 


CHAKACTKU   OF   KSAUIIADDON 


Hook  VIII 


Ir^ 


kings  of  Kgypt,  Patliros  (upper  Kgypt),  and  Kush."  These 
luul  other  hihours  in  various  cities  of  his  empire,  along 
with  his  achievements  in  war  and  statesmanship,  testify  ta 
his  Wonderful  energy  as  well  as  his  genius  for  government. 
Yet  withal  he  was  of  a  mild  and  generous  disposition,  per- 
hajts  more  so  tlian  any  other  noted  king  of  Assyria.  Though 
stern  enough  to  ohstinate  rehels,  lie  was  eager  to  spare  and 
I)ardon  the  suhmissive.  No  Assyrian  king  hefore  or  after 
him  wielded  such  umiuestionedaiul  widely  extended  power, 
ami  none  usi'd  his  power  so  wisely  and  temperately  as 
lie.  It  may  Ihj  that  he  was  always  expectant  of  an  early 
•leath,  for  he  wrought  in  haste  and  ajjpointed  his  successors 
l}efore  he  set  out  on  his  last  expedition.  Yet  though  his 
work  was  done  (juickly,  it  was  skilful  and  solid,  and  miglit 
have  been  enduring,  if  the  conditions  which  were  slowly 
but  surely  preparing  the  dooni  of  Nineveh  had  not  been 
beyond  aJl  human  control. 


I 


I   I 


h 


CHAPTER   IX 
asshurhanii'Al  and  the  dissolving  empire 

§  7«J3.  AssiiUKiiANii'AK  ("  Assluir  begets  a  son,"  668- 
020),  son  of  Esaihiiddon,  was,  as  he  himself  informs  us,' 
appointed  and  installed  h}-  his  father  as  vieeroy  in  Nineveh 
and  as  i)rospective  king,  on  the  twelfth  of  lyyar  (end  of 
Ai)ril,  608).  This  was  a  wise  precaution,  perhaps  taken 
with  a  view  to  avoiding  the  troid)le  which  had  preceded 
liis  own  inauguration.  At  any  rate  the  final  enthronement 
of  the  new  king  was  acconiidished  without  disturl)ance. 
The  prestige  of  his  father,  and  perliaps  his  own  personal 
qualities,  made  his  rule  popular,  and  the  favourable  oniens 
were  reinforced  by  a  period  of  unprecedented  national 
jirosperity.'^  Hut  Asshurbanipal  was  not  the  sole  ruler  of 
the  em[)ire.  Another  son,  Samas-sum-ukTn  ("  Shamash 
has  determined  the  name,"  608-647),  had  been  designated 
king  of  Babylonia,  and  he  there  took  the  throne  concur- 
rently with  his  brother's  accession  in  Nineveh.  The  dual 
sovereignty,  with  a  subordinate  role  assigned  to  Babylonia, 
turned  out  to  be  a  colossal  failure.  But  of  this  more 
liereafter. 

§  764.  The  condition  of  the  lately  acquired  Egyptian 
domain  first  called  the  young  king  into  action.  It  was 
when  Esarhaddon  was  on  the  way  thither,  to  deal  with  an 
insurrectionary  movement   led    by  Tirhaka  (§  093),  that 


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'  V  R.  1,  8  ff.  See  Note  17  in  Appendix.  Esarhaddon  made  the  assem- 
bled princes  of  the  empire  swear  solemnly  by  the  names  of  the  gods  to 
protect  his  son,  in  view  of  his  future  kingship  (lines  20-22). 

2  V  U.  1,  4r)f. 

351 


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33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  M580 

(716)  872-4503 


4l>   S'^ 


6^ 


REVOLT  IN   EGYPT 


Book  VIII 


I- ; 


(».!) 


■ii  M 


■t  ;.! 


he  met  with  his  untimely  death.  During  his  absence  from 
Egypt  (670-668),  that  veteran  campaigner  prepared,  in  his 
ancestral  home  in  Ethiopia,  to  drive  the  new  lords  of  the 
land  from  their  usurped  dominion.  The  death  of  the  con- 
queror of  Egypt  was  the  signal  for  action.^  The  Assyrian 
garrisons,  from  Thebes  northward  to  lUemphis,  were  one 
by  one  overcome,  while  the  foreign  governors  found  it 
expedient  to  retire  from  their  posts,  and  betake  themselves 
to  the  desert  till  help  sliould  come  from  Nineveh.  The 
expected  succour  Wixs  not  long  delayed.  A  strong  force 
was  despatched  to  the  relief  of  the  loyalists.  A  battle  was 
fought  at  Karbanit,^  near  the  Canopus  mouth  of  the  Nile,  in 
which  Tirhaka  was  defeated.  He  fled  southward  by  the 
rivor,  yet  with  the  command  of  a  sufficient  army  and  suffi- 
cient public  sympathy  to  make  it  advisable  that  the  Assyr- 
ians should  secure  reinforcements.  These  were  not  back- 
ward in  offering  themselves,  since  all  the  subject  states  to 
the  west  of  the  Euphrates  now  felt  that  the  fate  of  Egypt 
was  sealed.  Twenty-two  vassals  sent  contingents  by  land 
and  sea  to  join  the  forces  of  Asshurbanipal.  In  about  forty 
days  Thebes  was  reached.  It  was  found  abandoned  by 
Tirhaka,  and  was  taken  without  opposition.  The  reduc- 
tion of  all  the  territory  that  had  been  subdued  and  garri- 
soned by  Esarhaddon  was  now  an  easy  matter.  The  baffied 
Ethiopian  entrenched  himself  on  both  banks  of  the  Nile 
some  distance  south  of  Thebes.  Here  he  was  not  molested 
by  the  invaders,  nor  did  he  move  northwards  until  the 
main  Assyrian  army  of  occupation  had  withdrawn.  The'i 
the  well-practised  game  began  anew. 

§  765.  The  reader  will  understand  the  precarious  posi- 
tion occupied  by  the  princes  of  Lower  Egypt  under  the 
Assyrian  dominion.  In  transferring  their  allegiance  from 
the  Ethiopian  over-lord  to  the  king  of  iVssyria,  they  had 

1  The  Etryptian  wars  are  comprised  in  the  first  two  "campaigns"  in  the 
Annals  of  Asshurbanipal  V  R.  1  and  2,  cf.  K.  2G7o  and  K.  228,  in  G.  Smith, 
History  of  Asshurbanipal,  p.  80  rt. 

2  See  Delitzsch,  Tar.  314. 


Cii.  IX,  §  700         ASSYRIAN   ADMINISTRATION 


353 


by 


not  simply  uiuleigoiie  a  change  of  masters.  Tlioy  had 
always  been  true  and  patriotic  Egyptians,  forward  to  act 
of  their  own  free  will  (cf.  vol.  i,  p.  422)  in  defence  of  the 
home-land,  or  in  aggression  against  the  common  oppressor. 
The  old  tolerant  relation  of  suzerainty  and  general  super- 
intendence, established  by  the  first  Ethiopian  conqueror 
(§  347),  was  still  maintained  essentially  unimpaired.  Now 
it  had  been  the  wise  and  comparatively  generous  policy  of 
Esarhaddon  (§  756)  to  allow  as  many  of  these  nome-rulers 
as  possible  to  retain  at  least  the  nominal  control  of  their 
own  principalities,  wliile  administering  them  in  behalf  of 
the  empire  of  the  Tigris.  It  was  in  some  respects  a  new 
situation  which  here  confronted  Esarhaddon,  and  his  policy 
was  a  great  experiment.  That  it  succeeded  so  well  is  a 
testimony  to  the  high  degree  of  perfection  now  attained  by 
the  Assyrian  governmental  system.  The  conditions,  in 
brief,  were  these.  Only  the  over-lord  Tirhaka  was  a  pro- 
scribed enemy  of  Assyria.  The  governors  of  tlie  provinces 
were  virtual  appointees  of  Esarhaddon,  as  nmch  so  as,  for 
example,  Hoshea  of  Samaria  (§  332)  had  been  an  appointee 
of  Tiglathpileser  III.  In  this  first  formidable  uprising, 
therefore,  none  of  them,  even  if  under  suspicion  of  disaffec- 
tion, were  strictly  called  to  account.  After  the  defeat  and 
flight  of  Tirhaka,  and  the  renewed  subjugation  of  the 
countrjs  they,  along  with  the  governors  of  Assyrian  origin, 
were  reinstated  or  confirmed  in  their  positions.  It  is  easy 
to  see,  however,  that  with  the  conflicting  claims  upon  tlieir 
allegiance,  their  native  country  must  wield  the  stro)iger 
influence.  And  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that  Tirhaka 
still  had  power  among  tliem  to  conjure  with  the  name  of  a 
united  and  independent  Egypt. 

§  706.  The  witlidrawal  of  the  main  Assyrian  ami}', 
without  having  extended  the  conquest  of  Upper  Egypt 
or  destroying  the  army  of  Tirhaka,  encouraged  some  of 
these  officials  to  make  overtures  to  their  former  lord.  The 
most  important  of  them  was  Necho  ("  Necho  I "  of  Ma- 

netho),  who   was   indeed   the   most  powerful   of  all  the 

2a 


<»  ( 


« 


■    i 
I 


.1i 


i!      ' 


354 


SUBSEQUENT  KEVOLTS 


Book  VIII 


vassal  kings  of  Egypt,  being  ruler  of  tlie  whole  territorj^ 
from  Memphis,  the  ancient  capital,  to  Sais,  not  far  from 
the  sea  on  the  main  western  branch  of  the  Nile.  With 
him  was  allied  Sarhuluri,  the  prince  of  Pelusium,  and 
Pakrura,  the  viceroy  of  the  neighbouring  nome  of  Pesept, 
the  key  to  Egyptian  Arabia.  The  watchfulness  of  the 
Assyrian  officers  prevented  the  consummation  of  the  plot. 
Incriminating  letters  were  intercepted  on  the  persons  of 
the  messenofers.  Necho  and  Sharludari  were  seized  and 
sent  in  chains  to  Nineveh.  Tlie  cities  which  were  involved 
in  the  insurrection  were  taken  and  their  inhabitants  put  to 
death  with  most  cruel  barbarity.  Among  them  were  Sais 
and  the  better  known  Biblical  cit}-  of  Zoan.  But  strange 
to  say,  the  fate  of  the  captured  ringleaders  was  mitigated. 
Neither  of  them  seems  to  have  lost  his  life,  while  Necho 
was  actually  pardoned,  loaded  Avith  presents,  and  restored 
to  the  lordship  of  his  old  city,  Sais.^  Tirhaka,  in  despair, 
fled  still  further  south,  where  death  soon  put  an  end  to  his 
patriotic  enterprises  and  his  checkered  life. 

§  7G7.  But  the  forlorn  hope  of  Egyptian  independence 
was  not  extinguished  with  the  passing  away  of  the  veteran 
agitator.  His  nephew  Urdaman  (Tanut- Anion)  succeeded 
to  the  throne  of  Ethiopia  and  to  the  hereditary  duty  of 
war  upon  the  Assyrians.  The  permanently  available  army 
of  the  foreigners  was  plainly  insufficient  for  the  suppression 
of  the  whole  country.  It  could  only  continue  to  retain 
the  Delta.  Urdaman  occupied  Thebes,  and  thence  marched 
northward  and  took  his  stand  at  On  (Heliopolis).  Thence 
he  proceeded  to  blockade  Memphis.  It  was  abandoned  by 
its  defenders.     Another  army  of  relief  came  from  Assyria. 


Before  it  the  "  rebels  "  once  more  retired.     They  retreated 

1  A  measure  as  politic  as  it  wa»  humane.  It  would  seem  as  though 
Asshurbanipal  followed  for  a  time  at  least  the  generous  policy  of  his 
father  towards  suppliant  captives  (§  762).  The  cruel  treatment  of  the 
seditious  cities,  now  in  the  last  stage  of  probation  (§  288),  which  reminds 
one  of  the  conduct  of  Julius  Ciesar  at  the  siege  of  Munda  (cf.  §  169), 
was  not  inflicted  by  the  Great  King  himself  (V  R.  2,  1  ft.),  but  by  his 
generals.     He  himself  was  then  at  least  in  Nineveh  (2,  7). 


I  in 


1 


i;-t 


Cir.  IX,  §  700 


INDEPENDENCE   OF   EGYIT 


i 


ough 
his 
tlie 

liinds 

(eo), 

his 


to  the  city  of  Thebes,  ^vhich  they  soon  abandoned  to  a 
cruel  fate  (§  7G9).^  A  decisive  defeat  awaited  them  still 
further  south  on  the  Nile,  before  the  city  of  Kipkip,  the 
capital  of  Nubia.  With  this  event,  Ethio[)ian  predomi- 
nance in  Egypt  came  to  an  end. 

§  708.  For  several  3'ears  Lower  Egypt  was  held  securely 
by  the  Assyrians.  The  pardon  and  restoration  of  Necho 
had  conciliated  his  people  as  well  as  himself.  There 
seemed  indeed  to  be  no  spirit  of  independence  left  in 
Egypt.  The  Ethiopian  over-lordship  was  no  more,  and  the 
ruling  power  in  the  Delta  was  enlisted  in  the  cause  of  the 
foreigners.  Thus  Necho  served  his  master  faithfull}'  till 
his  deat^".  But  liis  son  Psammetichus  I,  though  likewise 
placed  upon  the  throne  by  the  Assyrians,  soon  revolted 
against  them  in  the  name  of  ancient  Egyptian  autonomy. 
lie  received  aid  not  only  from  other  princes  of  the  Delta, 
but  from  Ionian  and  Carian  troops  sent  down  by  Gyges, 
king  of  Lydia  (§  774  f.).  He  succeeded  in  maintaining 
his  independence,  and  although  the  details  of  the  struggle 
are  not  known  to  us,  it  is  certain  that  by  the  year  045, 
while  Asshurbanipal  was  still  firmly  seated  upon  his  throne 
in  Nineveh,  Assyrian  domination  was  forever  at  an  end  in 
the  valley  of  the  Nile.  In  closing  our  cursory  survey  of 
this  remarkable  international  episode,  we  may  point  out 
that  perhaps  the  most  important  permanent  result  of  the 
Assyrian  invasions  and  occupation  of  Egypt  was  to  make 
it  impossible  for  the  Ethiopian  dynasty  to  maintain  its  con- 
trol of  the  lower  country.  Egypt  will  soon  re-emerge  as  a 
more  formidable  power,  under  changed  yet  more  normal 
conditions. 

§  769.  The  fortunes  of  Egypt  in  this  eventful  era  are 
not  unnoticed  in  Hebrew  Prophecy.  The  allusions  are  not 
very  specific,  yet  they  are  unmistakable  and  illustrate 
the  unique  prevision  of  the  Old  Testament  seers.     Isaiah 

1  Thebes  was  this  time  completely  looted.  Among  the  spoil,  mention 
is  made  of  two  beautiful  obelisks,  of  the  weight  of  2500  talents,  which 
were  taken  to  Nineveh  (V  II.  2,  41  ft.). 


^  I     '  (I 


i\  I 


m 


•111 


350 


EGYPT   IN   HEBREW   I'HOPIIECY 


Book  VIII 


i', 


A\     I: 


xix.  has  already  come  under  our  notice  (§  G56),  and  an 
analysis  of  the  section,  vs.  1-15,  was  given,  with  the  remark 
that  the  instrument  to  be  used  for  the  punishment  of 
Egypt  was  her  rival  Assyria.  We  may  now  see  how  the 
picture  here  presented  of  the  anarcliy  and  helplessness  of 
the  land  of  the  Pharaohs  corresponds  in  its  main  features 
to  the  Assyrian  domination  and  its  results.  The  internal 
strife  of  v.  2  reached  its  height  when  Necho,  favoured  by 
Ass3'ria,  took  up  arms  in  favour  of  his  patrons.  The  char- 
acter of  the  "cruel  master"  of  v.  4  is  illustrated  by  the 
treatment  accorded  to  the  revoltnig  cities  (§  766).  The 
folly  of  the  princes  of  Zoan  and  Memphis  (vs.  11-13)  is 
exemjililied  by  their  taking  the  lead  in  fomenting  insur- 
rection in  Egypt,  because  they  were  "the  corner-stone  of 
her  tribes."  The  prediction,  uttered  half  a  century  before, 
found  its  fulfilment  at  last,  though  the  chief  value  of  the 
prophecy  is  not  its  foresight  of  particular  events,  but  its 
insight  into  the  essential  character  of  the  Egyptian  govern- 
ment, and  its  relation  to  the  fortunes  of  the  people  of 
Jehovah. 

§  770.  A  more  specific  reference  to  the  troubles  of 
Egypt  is  found  in  a  prophetic  reminiscence  of  the  capture 
of  Thebes  (§  767),  found  in  Nah.  iii.  8-10.  Prophecy  is 
not  simply  the  forerunner  of  the  events  that  make  up 
history ;  it  is  also  the  interpreter  of  the  past  for  the  uses 
of  the  future  (cf.  §  14).  The  great  catastrophe  of  the 
age  was  the  impending  fall  of  Nineveh  (cf.  §  760).  Other 
tragic  events  were  types  and  analogies  of  this  appalling 
consummation.  Thus  Nahum,  writing  over  thirty  years 
after  the  close  of  the  revolution  in  Egypt,  survej'S  the 
calamities  of  his  time,  and  can  find  nothing  so  exemplary 
as  the  fate  of  "  No-Amon^  that  sitteth  among  the  streams ; 

'  "Xo"  is  the  Biblical  name  of  the  famous  capital  of  Upper  Egypt, 
the  Greek  "  Thebes  "  and  later  "  Diospolis."  The  Assyrian  form  is  Xi', 
to  which  the  native  Egyptian  JVn,  "  city,"  nearly  corresponds.  It  is  called 
No-Amon  as  being  the  principal  seat  of  the  worship  of  the  £"*eat  god  Amen, 
the  supposed  analogue  of  Zeus-Jupiter  ;  cf.  Jer.  xlvi.  25.     Other  Biblical 


years 

the 

plaiy 

■earns ; 

Egypt, 
is  xr, 

;  called 
Amen, 
iiblical 


Ch.  IX,  §  771 


TYRE   COMES  '!<•   TEKMjj 


oo7 


that  has  the  waters  round  about  htr:  wh^i^e  rampart  is  the 
sea,^  and  her  wall  the  waters.^  EtLio»|jiMi  and  Egypt  were 
her  strength,  and  that  without  end-  Fimt  nmd  the  Libyans  ^ 
were  among  her  helpers.  Even  she  a*  am  exile  went  into 
captivity.  Her  infants,  too,  were  daAitnJ  in  pieces  at  the 
corners  of  all  the  streets :  and  ujjon  htr  nobles  they  cast 
the  lot,  and  all  her  grandees  thej"  lucKDiad  with  chains " 
(vs.  8-10). 

§  771.  The  doubtful  possession  of  E^y|)t  was  not  the 
only  liard  problem  left  in  the  AV^est  hy  Esarhaddon  to  be 
solved  by  his  successor.  At  his  deailu  ioi  fWH  Tyre  was 
still  maintaining  a  precarious  indepemidence.  But  not 
long  thereafter  it  submitted  to  the  incdH:  favourable  terms 
offered  by  the  new  king,  who  found  it  mo';'e^8ary  to  concili- 
ate all  opposition  in  order  to  be  unhaimjjisrirei'l  in  bis  Egyp- 
tian campaigns.  In  the  list  of  twenty-uwo  princes  who 
furnished  contingents  for  the  reconquesl  lol  Egypt  appears 
the  name  of  Ba'al,  king  of  Tyre.*  Il  wx^  demanded  of 
him  that  he  should  send  his  childie]!  tiO»  Xumeveh.  Asshur- 
banipal  was  content  to  retain  his  diiuglateir  Mid  the  daugh- 
ters of  his  brother  ;  but  he  released  amicl  sent  back  his 
son  •''  with  a  pardon  for  Ba'al,  on  Qoudhmn,  naturally,  of 

references  are  found  in  Ez.  xxx.  14  ff.  Swe  S'juj.  Zl>*r  and  especially 
A.  .Teremias,  in  Delitzsch  and  Ilaupt's  BeitrCv^  zmir  An^ijriulofjie,  III,  i, 
104  f. 

1  That  is,  the  Nile,  called  also  in  modern  AraMc  "tliift'sea." 

2  This  correction  (merely  the  change  of  vnwel-giiomnittSjnc)  is  obvious. 

•■J  The  location  of  Put  is  not  yet  definitely  aeoyntBiimiftiiL  Glaaer,  one  of 
the  best  and  most  recent  investigators,  makes  it  t3»e  mume  of  a  people  in 
mid-west  Arabia ;  see  Skizze  der  altcn  Geschkidli.  maai  fj-nof/raiihie  -Im- 
biens  (1800),  II,  332  ff. 

••  The  list  is  given  in  S.  A.  Sniitli,  Asurhanipal^  iiL  iS  ff, ;  cf.  Wiiickler, 
GBA.  p.  3:57.  Possibly  the  name  is  iuseited  beate  WKHv-Ay  for  the  sake 
of  symmetry.  On  the  otlier  hand,  while  the  Egj-jniiam)  w;us  make  up  the 
first  two  campaigns,  the  capture  of  Tyre  would  Beitma  iti*  liuuve  come  later, 
since  it  forms  part  of  the  "third  campaign"'  in  the  amiu;8lI*of  Ass  h  urban  i  pal. 
Tliese,  however,  do  not  maintain  complete  chroiit«lfj>ji'.'.iiL  .)rder.  The  date 
can  hardly  be  settled  as  yet. 

5  Described  significantly  (V  K.  2,  58)  as  a  lad  -  Tirib*  Ihn«I  never  crossed 
the  sea," — that  is,  of  course,  not  a  "land-lubbw,"  4«sill  a  mere  school- 


i:| 


^     ( 


■ 


S58 


THE   TYRIANS   IN   PKOPHECV 


BooK  VIII 


;   -■■{ 


il' 


an  increase  of  tribute.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  same 
leniency  is  here  exhibited  as  marked  the  treatment  of 
Palestinian  insurgents  generally  (§  025).  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  to  have  destroyed  Tyre,  or  even  to  have  crippled 
it  by  excessive  rigour,  would  have  been  to  kill  the  goose 
that  laid  the  golden  egg.  As  to  the  condition  of  Palestine 
in  these  earlier  years  of  Asshurbanipal,  it  may  be  sufficient 
to  say  that  it  lemained  for  a  time  as  peaceful  and  con- 
tented as  it  liad  been  in  the  days  of  his  father.  The  name 
of  Manasseh  of  Judah  appears  again  (cf.  §  761)  in  the 
list  of  tributaries  alluded  to  above. 

§  772.  A  remarkable  prophecy  (Isa.  xxiii.)  summarizes 
the  condition  and  prospects  of  Tyre  during  this  period  of 
Assyrian  aggression  upon  the  Mediterranean  coast-land. 
We  liave  a  hint  of  the  date  at  which  it  was  written ;  for, 
accoruuig  to  v.  13,  the  devastation  of  "•  the  land  of  the 
Chaldees  "  by  the  Assyrians,  and  the  destruction  of  Baby- 
lon, are  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the  Prophet's  readers  or 
hearers.  We  nia}'  be  reasonably  certain,  therefore,  that 
the  time  was  after  the  vengeful  work  of  Sinacherib  in 
Babylonia  (§  733  ff.,  740)  and  very  near  to  the  epoch  of 
the  restoration  under  Esarhaddon  (§  748  ff.).  It  can 
hardly  have  been  earlier  tlian  the  former  date,  since  no 
previous  Ass3Tian  campaign  resulted  in  such  calamities 
to  both  land  and  capital  as  those  here  mentioned.  It 
cannot  well  be  much  subsequent  to  the  latter;  for  there 
would  have  been  no  significance  in  reminding  the  Tyrians 
of  the  fate  of  a  people  who  had  been  long  restored  to 
prosperity.^     It  is  therefore  quite  possible  that  Isaiah  him- 


boy.    The  phrase  is  probably  quoted  from  the  letters  sent  by  the  lad's 
father  to  the  Great  King. 

1  In  spite  of  the  obscurities  and  peculiarities  of  certain  expressions, 
the  genei-al  sense  of  the  verse  is  clear.  The  first  portion  refers  to  evil 
wrought  by  the  Assyrians  upon  the  Chaldaean  country,  and  the  .second  to 
their  destruction  of  a  city,  which  can  only  be  Babylon  itself.  The  phrase 
"this  is  the  people  which  was  not"  apparently  refers  to  the  expulsion  of 
the  Chaldaean  communities  by  Sinacherib  ;  and  the  fate  of  Babylon  is  most 
naturally  associated  therewith,  because,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Chaldean 


1300K  VIII 

L 

lie  same 
ment  of 
L  matter 
crippled 
le  goose 
Palestine 
sufficient 
iiid  cou- 
he  name 
)  in  the 

nmarizes 

)eriod  of 

ast-land. 

ten ;  for, 

:l  of  the 

Df  Baby- 

iaders  or 

jre,  that 

herib  in 

;poch  of 

It   can 

mce  no 

lamities 

led.     It 

r  there 

Tyrians 

ored  to 

h  hini- 

|the  lad's 

t)ressions, 
to  evil 
kecond  to 
lie  phrase 
lulsiou  of 
In  is  most 
tbaldiean 


Cii.  IX,  §  77.] 


SIDOX   AND  OTHER   STATES 


369 


^elf  wrote  at  least  the  greater  portion  of  tlie  chajjter  in 
liis  later  years,  perhaps  about  G85  B.C. ;  that  is,  about 
twenty  years  before  Tyre  capitulated  to  Asshurbanipal. 
The  situation  is,  as  usual,  indicated  in  broad  and  general 
terms,  as  well  as  somewhat  idealized.  Tyre  is  made  most 
prominent,  because  of  her  importance  and  her  steady  resist- 
ance to  the  Assyrian  arms  (§  680  ff.).  IJut  it  is  really 
southern  Plut'iiicia  as  a  whole  that  is  the  subject  of  the 
prophecy.  Sidon  is  referred  to  mainly  because  of  her  being 
the  mother  city  (v.  12;  cf.  §  44).  Perhaps  the  most  strik- 
ing historical  allusion  is  that  made  to  the  frequent  and 
increasing  forced  migrations  from  the  home-cities  to  the 
colonies  (vs.  6,  12;  cf.  §  42).  Very  noteworthy  also  is 
the  statement  that  the  report  of  the  fall  of  Tyre  should 
make  the  Egyptians  quake  (v.  5),  an  observation  which 
our  present  survey  enables  us  to  appreciate  (cf.  §  753,  757, 
769).  Finally,  we  must  not  overlook  the  fact  that  the 
Assyrians,  and  no  other,  are  the  instruments  of  Jehovah's 
chastisement  (vs.  9, 11),  since  otherwise  the  warning  remi- 
niscence of  V.  13  would  be  irrelevant.^ 

§  773.  We  may  pass  over,  as  being  of  little  general  in- 
terest, the  voluntary  homage  and  rich  offerings  of  princes 
in  northern  Phoenicia,  eastern  Cilicia,  and  Tabal  (Tiba- 
rene).^  The  loyalty  of  the  last  named  was  perhaps 
inspired  by  fear  of  the  ominous  Kimmerians  (§  758  ff.). 
Of  more  importance  is  the  history  of  the  celebrated  Gyges 
(Assyr.  GCa/ii^,  hing  of  L3-dia,  who  on  account  of  these 


regime  of  Merodacli-baladan  as  "king  of  Babylon"  (Isa.  xxxix.  1)  was 
one  of  world-wide  fame,  which  had  been  displaced  by  the  Assyrian  domi- 
nation. The  denial  that  Isaiah  was  the  author  of  the  chapter,  on  the 
ground  of  the  occurrence  of  several  words  which  do  not  appear  elsewhere 
in  his  writings  (r.f/.,  by  Dillmann,  Do-  Prnphet  Esaiu  erklnrt,  1890,  p.  210), 
would  seem  to  involve  the  assumption  that  Isaiah's  Hebrew  vocabulary 
was  somewhat  limited. 

1  The  commonly  held  hypothesis  that  v.  13  is  a  later  interpolation  is 
very  improbable.  Though  appropriate  in  its  innnediate  association  with 
the  context,  what  an  elaborate  historical  construction  it  would  involve 
as  an  afterthought !    See,  however,  Cheyne,  Jntruduction,  p.  139  ff. 

-  V  U.  2,  03-94  ;  G.  Smith,  History  of  Asshurbanqial ,  p.  08  f. 


;  I 

;    I 


I 


1 


ii 


i  i 


oOO 


GYGES  OF   LYDTA 


Book  VIII 


!■■''',         ' 

Hi'"' 


northern  marauders  was  brought  most  strangely  into  rehi- 
tions  with*  the  king  of  Assyria.  The  actual  career  of  the 
Lydian  prince  is  known  from  classical  stor}-,  which  repre- 
sents him  as  a  palace  favourite  who  compassed  the  death 
of  his  master,  Kandaules,  and  after  his  accession  to  the 
throne  raised  his  feeble  nation  to  a  connnanding  position.' 
But  the  mythological  halo  that  invests  his  name  has 
given  him  a  wider  currency;  and  Plato's  "ring  of  Gyges  " 
is  better  known  than  the  })hiloso[)hy  which  it  illustrates. 
By  a  curious  fate  his  relations  with  far-off  Assyria  partake 
of  a  similar  semi-mythical  character,  which,  however,  I 
may  be  permitted  to  set  forth  in  the  words  of  the  Great 
King  himself,^  especially  as  they  help  to  illustrate  the 
religious  conceptions  of  the  Assyrian  people. 

§  77-4.  "  Gyges,  the  king  of  Lydia  (^Lii-ud-cli),  a  region 
beyond  the  Sea,  a  remote  district,  the  mention  of  which 
the  kings  ni}-  fathers  had  never  heard,  Asshur,  my  beget- 
ter, caused  to  behold  my  name  in  a  dream,  saying :  '  Em- 
brace the  feet  of  Asshurbanipal,  king  of  Assyria,  and 
by  uttering  his  name  conquer  thy  enemies.'  On  the  day 
when  he  saw  that  vision,  he  sent  his  courier  to  bid  me 
hail.-'^  And  the  dream  which  he  had  beheld  he  sent  by  the 
hand  of  his  messenger  and  he  repeated  it  to  me.  From 
that  very  day  when  he  embraced  my  feet,  he  overcame  the 
Kimmerians,  who  were  besetting  his  land,  who  had  not 
feared  mj'  fathers  nor  embraced  my  royal  feet.  By  the 
aid  of  Asshur  and  Ishtar,  the  gods  my  lords,*  he  cast  into 
chains  and  fetters  and  bonds  of  iron  two  of  the  prefects  of 
the  Kimmerians,  whom  he  subdued,^  and  made  them  come 
before  me  with  rich  presents.  His  messenger,  whom  he 
had  regularly  sent  to  bid  me  hail,  he  (now)  failed  to  send. 

1  Ilerod.  i,  8  ff.  ^  V  R.  2,  95-125. 

3  Literally,  "to  ask  for  my  welfare  "  ;  so  1  Sam.  x.  4,  in  the  identical 
words  of  the  Assyrian. 

■*  Notice  that  homage  paid  to  the  king  of  Assyria  implies  worship  of 
his  gods,  and  tlieir  consequential  protection  (cf.  §  01,  200). 

^  That  is,  he  subdued  the  Kimmerians,  and  then  cast,  etc. 


Il  I II 


Cm.  I.\,  §  77') 


GYGKS   AND   ASSIIL'UnANIPAL 


entical 
ship  of 


And  because  he  regauleil  not  the  cominaiid  of  Asshur  my 
begetter,  and  relied  upon  bis  own  power,  and  (because)  his 
own  heart  pionipted  him,  he  sent  bis  forces  to  join  Psam- 
metichus  {Fi-sa-vH-il-ld}^  king  of  Kgypt,  who  had  rejected 
the  yoke  of  my  lordship.  J  lieard  of  this  and  prayed  to 
Assliur  and  Ishtar:  '  liefore  his  enemies  may  his  cor[)se  be 
thrown  down,  and  may  bis  l)ones  be  carried  away.' ^  Ac- 
cording as  I  petitioned  Assbui',  it  was  fnllilled :  before  his 
enemies  his  corpse  was  thrown  down,  and  his  bones  were 
carried  away.  The  Kinnnerians,  who  l)y  the  spell  of  my 
name  he  had  trodden  down,  came  on  and  overwhelmed  the 
whole  of  his  land.  Afterwards  his  son  seated  himself  u[)on 
his  throne.  The  evil  deeds,  wliicli  through  the  u[)lifting 
of  my  hands  the  gods  my  defenders  had  executed  against 
liis  father,  he  reported  by  the  hand  of  his  messenger,  and 
embraced  my  royal  feet,  saying,  'Thou  art  a  king  whom 
God  has  chosen."-^  Thou  didst  curse  my  father,  and  evil 
was  inflicted  upon  him.  ]\Ie,  the  slave  that  worships  thee, 
do  thou  bless,  and  I  will  bear  thy  yoke.' " 

§  775.  Here  we  have  the  first  episode  of  the  relations 
between  the  far  West  and  the  East  which  were  a  centur}^ 
later  to  become  so  full  of  interest  and  fateful  results. 
Stripped  of  its  religiosity  and  self-glorification  the  account 
is  meagre  enough,  and  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  the 
Great  King  took  any  more  active  interest  in  the  affairs  of 
Lydia  than  to  permit  the  hard-pressed  king  of  Lj-dia  to  call 
upon  the  talismanic  names  of  Asshur  and  Ishtar.  Proba- 
bh^  he  did  nothing  more ;  and  the  story  is  related  mainly 
for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  the  name  of  the  king  of 
Assyria  and  his  gods  had  still  power  to  overawe  tlie  bar- 
barians of  the  north."'^  We  have,  however,  some  important 
facts.     The  rebellion  of  Psammetichus  (§  768)  apparently 

1  Cf.  §  734,  note. 

2  Literally  "has  known."  Cf.  the  same  word  (;-i>)  in  Hebrew.  Gen. 
xviii.  10  ;  Amos  iii.  2. 

3  Also,  no  doubt,  in  order  to  spite  and  belittle  Gyges  for  assisting  the 
Egyptian  insurgents. 


i 


y 


)  I 


]'• 


■M-^ 


LYIJIAN.S   AM)    KIMMKKIANS 


Hu(.K  VIII 


I  . 


i'l 


owed  its  success  in  a  large  measure  to  the  help  afforded  by 
Gyges  and  his  mercenary  troops.  We  see  here  the  begin- 
ning of  the  colonizing  of  Egypt  by  Lydian  and  Carian 
troops  on  an  extensive  scale.  It  was  certainly  after  the 
loss  of  these  troops  to  Lydia  that  the  Kimmerians  made 
their  worst  assaults  upon  that  country.  According  to  the 
frreck  historians  the  damage  inflicted  by  them,  and  alluded 
to  l)y  Asshurbanipal,  was  serious  indeed.  Their  first  great 
invasion  brought  them  to  the  acroi)olis  of  Sardis,  the  capi- 
tal. After  the  relief,  alleged  by  Asshurbanipal  to  be  the 
result  of  his  prayer,  they  returned  and  elefeated  Cryges  and 
slew  him  in  battle.  We  may  anticipate  later  events  by 
adding  that  the  son  of  Gyges,  Ardys  II,  also  maintained 
an  unequal  contest  against  the  Kimmerians,  who,  however, 
were  finally  expelled  from  the  neighbourhood  by  Alyattes 
III,  the  grandson  of  the  last-named  prince.  Finally,  we 
cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the  widening  of  international 
relations  that  marks  the  present  and  the  coming  era. 
From  the  remotest  times  the  Semitic  peoples  had  to  do 
mainly  with  one  another  in  their  enterprises  of  war  and 
peace  (§  03,  97,  116,  153).  But  now  we  see  the  furthest 
coast  of  Asia  Minor  brought  near  by  treaty  and  alliance  to 
Egypt  on  the  one  hand  and  Assyria  on  the  other.  The 
next  great  stride  is  made  when  Europe  receives  upon  her 
shores  the  ambassadors  and  the  armies  of  the  furthest  east 
of  this  vast  historic  region.  But  this  does  not  take  place 
until  the  Semitic  rdgime  is  outworn  and  superseded. 

§  776.  And  now  a  more  genuine  and  effective  solidarity 
than  any  previously  displayed  began  to  be  realized  among 
the  dependent  states  of  the  Assyrian  empire.  The  strenu- 
ous rulers  of  Nineveh  had  by  dint  of  remorseless  and 
unrelaxing  pressure  brought  under  one  administration  a 
multitude  of  unsocial  and  mutually  hostile  communities, 
and  had  "  made  them  speak  the  one  language  "  (cf.  §  179) 
of  homage  and  obedience  to  Asshur.  Like  all  policies  that 
are  purely  selfish,  this  also  reacted  against  its  promoters. 
The  combination  that  had  been  effected  by  force  had  at 


MMM 


aaB 


ul 


Cii.  IX,  §  777       JSKINS  OF    A    GHKAT    UI'IIKAVAL 


no?, 


last  been  couvertetl  into  a  conscious  sense  of  unity,  spring- 
ing from  a  just  resentment  against  the  common  oppressor. 
The  rebellion  of  Psamnictichus  and  his  politic  alliance  with 
tlu^  Lydian  king  were  no  isolated  movement.  They  were 
disturbances  incident  to  a  vast  ui)heaval.  All  of  the  larger 
states  not  entirely  deprived  of  their  autonomy  rose  by  a 
common  impulse  against  their  suzerain.  The  result  in  the 
extreme  west  we  have  already  recorded  (§  7*58).  A  Hercer 
and  more  critical  struggle  was  now  waged  in  the  extreme 
east,  and  the  repression  of  the  outbreak  was  the  last  great 
achievement  of  the  Assyrian  arms.  The  trouble  seemed 
to  owe  its  inception  to  comparatively  trifling  causes :  l)ut 
these  were,  so  to  speak,  openings  in  the  embankments 
towards  which  the  pent-up  waters  rushed  to  find  an  outlet. 
§  777.  A  revolt  of  the  Mannajans  ^  on  the  northern 
border  (cf.  §  758),  which  was  suppressed  without  great 
difficulty  (c.  055  B.C.),  had  no  great  significance  for  tlie 
general  situation.  Nor  are  we  to  lay  especial  stress,  except 
as  a  premonition  of  a  coming  greater  catastrophe  (cf.  §  700), 
upon  an  expedition  against  the  land  of  Salii  in  the  ncn-th- 
east.2  Its  people  had  formerly  submitted,  and  now  by 
rebellion  they  brought  upon  themselves  the  customary 
punishment  of  invasion  and  spoliation.  They  were  the 
advance  guard  of  the  Medians,  who  at  length  had  come  to 
occupy  the  whole  country  east  to  the  Caspian  Sea  (cf. 
§  311).  Ths  life  and  death  struggle  which  shook  to  its 
foundations  the  throne  of  Asshurbanipal  was  waged,  not 
in  the  north,  but  in  the  Babylonian  home-land,  whence  had 
come  the  first  impulse  to  imperial  enterprise,  and  where 
still  lay  potentially  the  elements  of  a  more  splendid  empire 
than  that  of  the  proudest  ruler  of  Nineveh. 


1  Described  in  V  R.  2,  120-326,  and  more  fully  in  '-Cylinder  B"  III, 
23  ff.,  or  G.  Smith,  Hixtorij  of  Asshurbanipal,  p.  89  ft'. 

2  Cyl.  B,  III,  102-IV.  14,  or  Smitli,  Ilistor;/,  etc.,  p.  97  ff.  Two  princes^ 
sons  of  Gagu,  prefect  of  Siichi,  were  concerned  in  this  uprising.  Giigu 
is  usually  identified  with  the  "Gog"  (ii  Kzek.  xxxviii..  wliich  describes 
the  incursions  of  the   Scythians  (§  814;.     The  name  Sachi  suggested 


■•  i 


if 

is  i: 


^^ 


lit 


(Ii 


THE   BABYLONIAN   VICEROY 


Book  VIII 


§  778.  The  brother  of  Asshurbanipal  (§  7G3),  upon  the 
vice-regal  throne  of  Babylon,  may  have  cherished,  almost 
from  the  earliest  years  of  his  administration,  the  hopes  of 
complete  independence  and  freedom  of  action  in  all  Baby- 
lonia. But  it  was  long  before  he  gave  any  sign  of  a  revo- 
lutionar}'  purpose.  He  had  been  set  over  Babylon  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  policy  and  the  wishes  of  Esarhaddon, 
who  desired  to  conserve  and  nurture  its  liberties  and 
interests  (§  748  ff.).  He  seems  to  have  followed  in  his 
father's  footsteps  ^  in  the  performance  of  this  worthy  task. 
But  he  was  after  all  only  administrator  of  a  portion  of  the 
empire  ruled  from  Nineveh,  and  the  more  his  country  pros- 
pered, the  more  irksome  became  to  him  his  position  of  infe- 
riority to  his  brilliant  brother.  He  could  not  forget  that 
while  his  father  had  been  by  his  own  choice  "  viceroy  "  of 
Babylon,  he  himself  had  been  designated  as  its  king.^ 
Such  control  as  he  now  lield  on  sufferance  it  was  impossible 
to  perpetuate.  Divided  dominion  or  concurrent  jurisdiction 
within  the  same  empires  is  virtually  impossible  in  Semitic 
lands.  If  the  rulers  themselves  agree  for  a  time,  the  in- 
triguers and  agitators  of  the  rival  courts  make  occasion  for 
strife  and  collision.  In  countries  where  judicial  admin- 
istration is  so  defective,  conflicts  of  authority  as  to  border 

to  G.  Smith  the  Qaka.,   the  original  form  of  the  name  "Scythian" 

(Skw^tjs). 

1  In  one  of  his  inscriptions  (V  R.  62,  9  f.)  he  says  that  the  great  gods 
had  approved  of  him  for  the  task  of  gathering  together  the  scattered  peo- 
ple of  Aliliad  and  of  restoring  their  neglected  shrines.  It  is  not  quite 
clear  how  far  his  jurisdiction  extended.  Probably  he  ruled  over  the 
whole  of  Babylonia  except  the  southerly  portions,  which  had  been  unset- 
tled by  the  Chaldean  troubles.  Winckler  (GB  A.  279)  says  that  he  did  not 
control  Shumer  and  Akkad.  This  is  in  direct  contradiction  to  his  own 
statement  in  V  R.  62,  5.  and  his  Cylinder  Inscription,  line  11.  Winckler's 
mistake  is  perhaps  due  to  his  erroneous  conception  of  "Shumer  and 
Akkad  "  (see  §  109).  That  Assyria  directly  controlled  South  Babylonia  is 
clear  from  the  history  of  the  complications  with  Elam. 

2  Even  by  Asshurbanipal  himself,  though  he  is  careful  to  specify  the 
relation  as  a  kind  of  ''clientship."  See  Lehmann,  De  inscriptionihus 
cnneatis,  etc.,  p.  24  ff.,  and  especially  Jensen  in  KB.  II,  2o8  f. 


Book  VIII 


Ch.  IX,  §  779 


ELEMENTS   OF   STRIFE 


305 


troubles,  as  to  fugitives,  aiul  the  like  difficulties,  are  inevit- 
able and  seldom  decided  except  b}'  appeal  to  force.  That 
the  two  brothers  administered  neighbouring  territories  for 
nearly  twenty  years  without  (quarrelling  is  really  more 
remarkable  than  the  fact  of  their  final  rupture.  Samas- 
sum-ukln  must  have  yielded  many  a  time  to  arbitrary 
restraint  before  he  attempted  to  throw  off  all  control.  We 
have  the  story  of  the  quarrel  told  by  Asshurljanipal  alone, 
and  the  seditious  brother  is  naturall}'  put  in  the  wrong. 
But  until  we  hear  the  other  side,  and  unless  we  hold  tliat 
in  the  Semitic  world  niicfht  was  alwavs  rig-ht  and  unsuccess- 

O  I/O 

ful  rebellion  always  wrong,  we  would  do  well  to  suspend  our 
judgment.  It  is  quite  possible  that  Esarhaddon  was  more 
to  blame  for  devising  the  dual  rrgime,  than  was  his  unfort- 
unate son  for  seeking  to  give  it  due  effect.  At  all  events, 
the  tragic  ending  of  the  present  episode  only  confirms  the 
inference,  already  made  so  clear,  that  Babylonia  could 
flourish  neither  as  a  province  of  Assyria  nor  as  an  autono- 
mous dependent. 

§  779.  Babylon  was  not  directly  involved  in  the  first 
series  of  disturbances.  The  parties  were  the  old  discord- 
ant elements  whose  various  combinations  had  already  con- 
fronted the  Assj'rians  with  many  insoluble  problems,  Tlie 
Elamites  had  been  conciliated  towards  Babylonia  by  Esar- 
haddon (§  752)  and  appear  to  have  kept  on  the  best  of 
terms  with  its  new  ruler.  But  the  Gambulians,  a  race  of 
semi-nomadic  Aramroans  on  the  lower  Tigris  (§  33!>)  who 
were  trying  to  assert  their  independence  of  Asshurbanipal, 
joined  the  Elamites  in  active  hostilities  against  Assyria.' 
These  allies  appear  to  have  invaded  Babylonia,  and  to  have 
threatened  Babylon  itself.  It  seems  remarkable  that  no 
mention  is  made  of  an  attempt  at  defence  by  the  Baby- 
lonians themselves.  At  any  rate  the  insurgents  under  tlie 
lead  of  L'rtaku,  king  of  Elam,  were  diiven  o »'er  the  border 

1  Cylinder  H,  IV,  4:1-58  (G.  Sinitlu  History  >'fAssh'  rhnnipah  p.  100  ff .). 
According  to  Cyl.  B.  VI,  83  ff.,  they  had  incited  U'taku  of  Elam  against 
Assyria. 


■  1-  ■ 
i  '♦■:      i 

11  ■  y 

i  ■'■        1 

« 1  ;  ■ 

4    \. 


■i  ' 


f       I 


II    i 


r 


36G 


ELAMITES  AND  CHALDEANS 


Book  VIII 


by  the  Assyrian  troops.  Singularly  enough,  all  the  leaders 
of  the  movement  died  about  this  time  by  the  manifest 
judgment  of  heaven.  Still  more  strangely  this  intervention 
of  the  offended  gods  in  behalf  of  their  pious  cham[)ion  only 
seemed  to  increase  his  troubles ;  for  a  very  "  devil "  of  a 
man,  named  Teumman,  now  took  the  throne  in  Elam  in 
the  place  of  his  brother  Urtaku.  The  rightful  heir,  with 
his  kindred,  fled  for  protection  to  Nineveh,  a  fact  which 
seems  to  show  that  in  all  probability  there  was  a  strong 
foreign  party  in  Elam  aided  and  abetted  from  the  Assyrian 
capital.  Teumman  requested  that  the  fugitives  be  extra- 
dited. Asshurbanipal  refused  to  give  them  iip.^  A  second 
advance  of  the  Elamites  into  Babylonia  was  made  and 
repulsed.  They  were  pursued  across  the  border,  and 
defeated  before  the  royal  city  of  Susa.  Teumman,  who 
had  been  ^7arned  by  heavenly  portents  of  his  impending 
fall,  and  had  been  besides  smitten  with  foul  disease  for  his 
presumption,  was  now  taken  and  slain,  and  Elam  was 
virtually  put  under  Assyrian  administration.  To  save 
appearances,  however,  a  son  of  Urtaku  (one  of  the  fugi- 
tives in  Assyria),  Ummanigas  by  name,  was  placed  upon 
the  throne.^  On  the  return  march  exemplary  punishment 
was  inflicted  upon  the  Gambulians.'^ 

§  780.  Now  at  length  (c.  650  B.C.)  the  storm  broke 
loose  for  which  so  many  elements  had  long  been  gathering. 
Not  since  701  (§  677  ff.)  had  there  been  such  a  commotion 
in  Western  Asia.  To  estimate  its  character  and  motives 
we  must  once  more  be  on  our  guard  against  taking  literally 
the  statements  of  our  only  witness,  the  Assyrian  tyrant 
himself.  The  essential  portion  of  his  case  against  his 
brother  is  as  follows,**  made  after  enumerating  the  kind- 

1  Scarcelj',  however,  on  grounds  of  humanity.  His  magnanimity  may 
be  estimated  by  the  fact  tliat  among  other  atrocities  committed  after  the 
defeat  of  Teumman,  he  took  out  of  Elam  a  grandson  of  the  great  Mero- 
daoli-baladan  and  put  him  to  a  shameful  death  in  Nineveh. 

-  V  H. ;},  27  ff. ;  and  much  more  fully  and  unctuou.sly  in  Cyl.  B,  IV,  71- 

V,  10;;. 

=*  Cyl.  B,  VI,  lU  Cf.  *  V  R.  Ill,  90  ff. 


]Ff! 


i  ~.  ' 


i\-S     :    ■ 


Book  VIII 

le  leaders 
manifest 
ervention 
pion  only 
vil "  of  a 
Elam  in 
leir,  with 
ct  which 
a  stronor 
Assyrian 
be  extra- 
A  second 
iiade  and 
•der,   and 
nan,  who 
npending 
se  for  his 
11am   was 
To   save 
the  fugl- 
ed upon 
[lishment 

tn  broke 

ithering. 

mmotion 

motives 

iterally 

tyrant 

inst   his 

le   kind- 

mity  may 
after  the 
eat  Mero- 

B,  IV,71- 


Ch.  IX,  §  781     THE  CASE   AGAINST  THE   REVOLTERS 


367 


nesses  he  had  shown  him  throughout  his  reign :  '*  Yet  he, 

V 

Samas-sum-ukin,  an  unfaithful  brother,  who  did  not  ob- 
serve the  covenant  made  with  me,  incited  the  people  of 
Akkad,^  the  Chaldteans,  the  Aramaeans,"'^  the  people  of  the 
sea-land  from  Akaba  to  Bab-salimeti,  my  servants  and 
dependents,^  to  rebel  against  me.  Ummanigas,  the  fugi- 
tive, who  had  clasped  my  royal  feet,  whom  I  had  placed 
on  the  throne  in  Elam,  and  the  kings  of  the  Gute,*  of 
Palestine,*^  of  Melulia,  whom  I  had  installed  by  the  war- 
rant of  Asshur  and  Beltis,  —  all  of  these  he  set  at  enmity 
against  me,  and  they  made  common  cause  with  him.  The 
gates  of  Sippar,  Babylon,  and  Borsippa  he  barred,  and  can- 
celled the  bond  of  brotherhood."  This  must  not  be  taken 
too  seriousl}'.  It  is  another  wii}'  of  saying  that  at  or  about 
this  time  the  peoples  named  entered  into  revolt.  That  the 
king  of  l^abj'lon  negotiated  with  most  of  the  princes  named 
is  very  likely ;  but  they  were  as  ready  to  revolt  as  he  was, 
and  some  of  them  —  those  in  the  far  west  and  in  the  north- 
east —  were  already  in  a  state  of  disaffection.  Wliat  the 
court-annalist  aims  at  is  to  place  the  blame  of  the  genei'al 
and  inevitable  outbreak  upon  the  most  obnoxious  of  the 
insurgents. 

§  781.  Further,  it  should  be  observed  that  even  for 
the  rising  of  the  neighbouring  peoples  this  "disloyal 
brother"  receives  too  much  credit.  Let  us  look  at  his 
position  for  a  moment,  lie  had,  of  course,  a  polic}-,  being 
ruler  of  such  a  country  as  Babylonia.  It  was  manifestly 
his  interest  and  duty  to  follow  out  the  lesson  he  had 
learned  from  his  good  father  (J^  750  ff.),  to  cultivate 
friendly  relations  with  Elam  and  the   ChakUeans.     This, 

1  Here,  as  freiiuciitly  in  the  inscriptions  of  Asshurbanipal,  e(iuivalent 
to  all  Babylonia,  except  the  south-land. 

-That  is,  the  AramaMUS  on  the  lnwcr  Tigris,  the  Ganibulians,  and 
others  (§  3;50). 

3  Literally.  "  who  behold  my  face  "  ;  cf.  §  407. 

*  Apparently  here  a  general  name  for  the  northeastern  peoples 
(cf.  §  92,  109.  777). 

5  The  reference  is  in  part  to  King  Manaaseh  of  Judah  (see  §  801  ff.). 


■if 

.tf! 


(  ' 


■  I-  f 
} 


368 


A   PLKA   FOR   BABYLON 


Book  VIII 


.■.', 


(;;f 


apparently,  he  had  always  done.  Nor  were  the  Elamites, 
as  a  rule,  unfriendly  to  Babylonia.  The  incursions  lately 
made  by  them  over  the  border  were,  like  those  of  the 
Chaldieans,  not  made  against  Babylon,  but  rather  against 
Assyria,  which  was  always  regarded  as  an  intrusive  usurp- 
ing power.  Twenty  years'  experience  of  the  Assyrian 
r(igime  in  the  lower  River  region,  with  its  encroachments, 
intrigues,  and  cruelties,  had  taught  him  that  it  was  by 
no  means  a  blessing  to  its  subjects.  Besides,  like  other 
Babylonians,  he  could  not  but  sjnnpathize  with  the  strug- 
gling Chalda3ans  as  against  the  Assyrians.  It  was  neither 
flattei'ing  nor  profitable  to  any  ruler  of  Babylonia  that  the 
revenues  of  the  seaports  sliould  be  carried  past  the  old 
commercial  cities  of  Babj-lonia,  and  go  to  enrich  the  insa- 
tiable magnates  of  Nineveh.  All  things  considered,  it 
seemed  right  and  expedient  that  I>abylonia  and  its  neigh- 
bours should  be  left  to  themselves.  Perliaps  on  the  whole, 
instead  of  following  a  recent  historian  ^  in  characterizing 
Samas-sum-ukin  "as  a  conscienceless  knave  or  else  a 
weak-minded  simpleton,"  it  would  be  better  to  say  that 
his  chief  fault  was  his  misfortune  in  strikino-  too  soon.  At 
all  events,  fanatic  though  he  may  have  been,  he  moved 
upon  the  lines  which  at  length  led  to  deserved  success  in 
more  propitious  days.  As  to  the  deluded  Elamites,  Ara- 
maeans, and  Chakheans,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  Assyrian 
garrisons  and  tax-gatherers  were  a  more  powerful  provo- 
cation to  revolt  than  the  seductions  of  the  Babylonian 
j)rince.2 

§  782.  The  veteran  generals  of  Asshurbanipal,  to  whom, 
rather  than  to  his  own  genius  for  war  and  statesmanship, 
he  owed  the  preservation  of  his  empire,^  met  the  uprising 


1  Winckler,  GBA.  p.  280. 

2  As  Asshurbanipal  himself  seems  to  imply  when  he  says  (V  R.  4,  07- 
100)  that,  after  being  instigated  by  his  brother,  they  came  to  antagonize 
him  on  their  own  account. 

*  Asshurbanipal,  unlike  his  predecessors,  seems  never,  or  very  rarely, 
to  have  taken  the  field  in  person.    After  being  told  how  he  set  out  on  the 


^Tni 


Book  VIII 

Elamite's, 
ions  lattly 
•se  of  the 
er  against 
ive  usurp- 

Assyrian 
acliments, 
t  was  by 
like  other 
:he  struo- 
IS  neither 
I  that  the 
t  the  old 
the  insa- 
dered,  it 
ts  neigh- 
le  whole, 
cterizinsr 
'    else    a 
say  that 
)on.     At 
3  moved 
iccess  in 
:es,  Ara- 

ssyrian 

l^rovo- 
)ylonian 


Cu.  IX,  §  7S3      WAUS   IN    BABYLONIA   AND   ELAM 


309 


)  whom, 
lanship, 
iprising- 


R.  4,  97- 

itagonize 

y  rarely, 
It  on  tlie 


with  adequate  skill  and  resource.^  The  great  fortified 
cities,  Sippar,  Babylon,  Borsippa,  and  Cutha  (^  94),  were 
besieged  and  finally  taken.  Reverse  after  reverse  attended 
tile  insurgents  upon  the  field.  What  perhaps  contributed 
most  of  all  to  their  ill-fortune  was  the  characteristic  inter- 
nal strife  of  the  ruling  party  in  Elam.  Unnnanigas,  the 
creature  of  the  Assyrian  king  (§  780),  and  at  last,  as  the 
story  goes,  his  rebellious  vassal,  was  murdered  by  his  own 
brother,  Tannnaritu,  also  a  pardoned  fugitive,  whom  As- 
shurbanipal  had  appointed  governor  of  one  of  the  Elamitic 
provinces.  The  new  king,  true  to  the  hereditary  policy, 
ranjjed  liimself  on  the  side  of  the  foes  of  Assvria,  and 
placed  an  army  at  the  disposal  of  the  hard-})ressed  king 
of  Pabylon.  Before,  however,  the  promised  help  could 
be  effective,  he  in  his  turn  was  dethroned  by  one  of  the 
nobles  of  the  country,  named  Indabigas,  who  defeated  him 
in  battle  and  compelled  him  to  flee  the  country  with  a 
band  of  his  retainers.  After  a  roundabout  journey  and 
many  sufferings  they  found  their  way  to  Nineveh,  where, 
by  propitiation  of  the  Great  King  and  his  gods,  the 
deposed  prince  succeeded  a  second  time  in  gaining  pro- 
tection.2 

§  783.  The  rebellious  cities  of  Babylon  were  thus  left 
without  adequate  defence.  The  army  of  Assyria,  having 
ravaged  the  open  country,  cut  off  their  supplies  and  con- 
march  and  defeated  the  enemy  on  such  and  such  a  field,  we  read  regularly 
that  the  captives  were  brought  before  him  in  Nineveh  or  Asshur  to  be  tor- 
tured and  executed,  Ills  chief  boast  is,  indeed,  that  he  spent  so  much  time 
in  interceding  with  his  favourite  deities  for  success  in  war  or  vengeance 
upon  his  foes.  This  habitual  employment  was  carried  nn,  of  course,  in 
the  cities  of  Assyria  proper,  and  is  tloubtless  recorded  to  show  among 
other  things  that  after  all  it  was  he  who  gave  success  to  his  armies.  He 
was  apparently  a  new  type  of  Assyrian  hero. 

1  V  R.  3,  128  ff. 

2  V  R.  3,  130-4,  41.  The  pardon  of  Tammaritu  is  another  instance  of 
Asshurbanipal's  boasted  magnanimity.  If  the  whole  story  as  told  in  the 
annals  is  true,  the  suppliant  was  the  most  grievous  offender  of  them  all. 
Most  probably  he  had  been  all  along  a  secret  supporter  of  his  old  patron, 
and  heuce  his  dethronement  by  his  loyal  subjects  ! 

2b 


fjH  i 


i  t 


:i  ■ 


370 


FATE  OF  BABYLONIAN   CITIES 


Book  VIII 


fidently  awaited  their  capitulation.  For  two  full  years 
they  endured  the  blockade.  But  slow  starvation,  helpless 
isolation,  and  a  spirit  broken  by  long  vassalage  and  the 
shame  and  suffering  of  repeated  national  humiliation,  at 
length  did  their  work.  One  after  another  Sippar,  Cutha, 
Borsippa,  and  Babylon  itself,  fell  a  prey  to  the  fury  of  the 
unsparing  conqueror.  The  luckless  prince  in  Babylon  pre- 
ferred self-immolation  to  the  tender  mercies  of  his  brother, 
and  died  in  the  flames  of  his  own  palace.^  Fearful  ven- 
geance, with  indescribable  cruelties  and  barbarities,  was 
inflicted  upon  all  surviving  rebels.  Thus  Asshurbanipal, 
in  648  B.C.,  became  king  of  Babylon.  The  land  was  not 
further  devastated.  Nor  were  the  cities  destroyed.  One 
redeeming  quality,  at  least,  the  conqueror  had.  Unlike 
Sinacherib  (§  740),  he  had  respect  for  the  culture  and 
science  of  Babylonia.  His  passionate  desire  to  appropriate 
their  choicest  monuments,  and  to  enrich  and  adorn  there- 
with his  own  libraries  and  palace-walls,  may  have  entered 
into  the  motives  that  swayed  him  to  the  side  of  for- 
bearance. 

§  784.  To  secure  Babylon  for  Assyria  one  decisive  step 
further  was  necessary,  —  the  complete  subjugation  of  Elam. 
With  this  must  be  combined  the  extirpation  of  the  Chal- 
diean  disturber  of  the  peace.  A  plausible  pretext  for  the 
invasion  of  Elam  was  never  lacking,  and  least  of  all  now 
that  the  turbulent  monarchy  was  upon  its  last  probation 
(§  288).  It  was  impossible  now  to  allege  against  Elam 
a  conspiracy  with  Babylon ;  but  friendly  relations  with  the 
Chaldoean  chiefs  were  sufficient  to  constitute  a  casus  belli. 


'  As  is  well  known,  this  is  the  death  ascribed  to  Asshurbanipal  himself 
("  Sardanajialus  ")  by  the  Greek  writers.  The  tradition  combined  the 
fortunes  of  the  two  brothers.  The  narrative  says  naively  that  the  gods 
threw  the  rebel  prince  into  burning  flame  (V  K,  4,  4G  ff.).  Among  the 
deities  referred  to,  Merodach,  the  tutelary  god  of  Babylon,  is  conspicuous 
by  his  absence.  Indeed,  Asshurbanipal  never  claims  the  protection  of 
Merodach  except  in  connection  with  his  installation  (K.  .3050  ;  G.  Smith, 
History,  etc.,  p.  9  f.  ;  KB.  III.  1,  p.  23(5),  while  Esarhaddon,  the  friend 
of  Babylon,  rejoiced  in  his  patronage. 


Ch.  IX,  §  785        ELAM'S  TRnUBLE^  A\'I>  FALL  371 

It  was  quite  iu  the  order  of  tLijj^'>  tLat  the  family  of 
Merodach-baladaii  should  Im  (.ojicfiiiiiictt  in  the  business. 
And  so  we  find  that  another  graiids-om  wf  the  old  patriot, 
Nabu-bel-sumi  by  name,  was  the  ooe.aiAiiO'iai  of  intervention. 
We  are  assured  that,  while  BabyloM  was  still  unsubdued 
(c.  650),  he  persuaded  the  Assyiiamt*  of  friendly  inten- 
tions, and  afterwards  went  over  to  ttlwfr  Elamites.  After 
the  subjection  of  Babylonia,  he  took  mSnge  with  the  king 
of  Elam,  Indabigas  (§  782).  Whem  everything  seemed 
to  be  ready  for  successful  iuti^i-fieiieiniee,  Asshurbanipal 
demanded  tlie  surrender  of  the  fugitive  Chaldiean.  Just 
at  this  time  another  revolution  was  aeie^mplished  in  Elam, 
and  Indabigas  gave  place  to  a  soldier  named  L'mmanaldas. 
He  thought  it  his  duty  to  refuse  tluie  (demand  for  extradi- 
tion, with  the  result  that  in  a  shon  time  ke  was  compelled 
to  flee  to  the  mountains.  Tammaritni.  ike  twice-pardoned 
fugitive  (§  782),  was  then  placed  u|j»0)iiii  ith,e  throne  by  the 
Assyrians.  With  incredible  liardiLifxjjd  !ie  revolted  yet 
again,  and  with  the  customary  :e!>iu3t.  He  now  showed 
the  world  at  last  that  he  could  take  t<*  tlirjht  without 
finding  the  road  to  Nineveh.  At  aimiv  rate,  he  is  heard 
of  no  more,  except  in  a  vague  stalemeat  to  the  effect 
that  the  gods  subjected  him  a  seeoiinKd  time  to  Asshur- 
banipal.^ The  next  turn  of  the  kaSeodoscope  shows  us 
Ummanaldas  again  as  king  of  Elam-  aiiwi  still  again  faith- 
ful to  his  client  from  the  sea-land. 

§  785.  ^Meanwhile  AsshurbanipaL  itKOnroughly  weary  of 
the  scene-shifting,  was  preparing  to  Immg  on  the  catas- 
trophe of  the  tragedy.  An  adequate  force  was  collected. 
The  land  was  devastated  with  lire  and  sword  from  end  to 
end.  Susa  ("Shushan  "'),  the  ca]iitaL  waw  taken,  with  its 
rich,  long-undisturbed  treasures.  XotHjiM':;  was  left  undone 
that  miffht  make  more  sure  the  ruin  'of  the  kingdom  and 
exclude  its  princes  and  people  fiom  all  liiioi|)e  ol  restoration. 
The  gods  of  Elam  were  deported,  and  evem  the  tombs  of 
the  kings  were  rifled  of  their  ghastly  eioiniiienits  and  carried 


m 


.'■I 


V^' 


\i 


1  V  R.  i>,  ;J4  L 


372 


DEATH  OF  A  TRUE  CHALD.KAX 


Book  VIII 


.s  i 


'' 


S    '   . 


to  Nineveh.^  After  the  Assyrian  army  had  finished  its  work 
of  destruction  and  retired,  the  king  of  Ehim  returned  from 
his  flight.  Once  more  the  demand  was  made  upon  liim 
for  the  surrender  of  the  Chaldiean.  But  tiie  grandson  of 
Merodach-bahxdan  asked  no  further  proof  of  the  fidelity 
of  his  patron.  Sterner  than  King  Saul  and  his  follower, 
he  and  his  armour-bearer  turned  their  swords  upon  one 
another,  and  so  evaded  the  last  ordeal  of  Assyrian  justice. 
But  the  vengeance  of  the  conqueror  was  not  wholly 
baflled.  The  spirit  had  perhaps  n(jt  left  the  body  of  the 
hated  Chaldiean.  There  still  remained  the  luxury  of 
imagining  him  forever  deformed  and  degraded  among  his 
peers  in  Sheol.  The  corpse  is  brought  before  him  b}'  his 
messenger,  along  with  the  head  of  the  faithful  ai'mour- 
bearer.  But  the  deed  must  be  left  to  be  described  in  tlie 
words  of  the  doer :  *'  His  body  I  granted  not  to  the  tomb. 
jNIore  dead  than  before  I  made  him.-  His  head  I  cut  off 
and  bound  it  on  the  neck  of  Xabu-kfiti-sabat,  an  ofiicer  (?) 

V 

of  Samas-sum-ukin,  my  brother  and  enemy,  who  had  joined 
with  him  in  stirring  up  war  against  me  in  Elam."  ^ 

§  780.  Among  the  other  parties  to  the  general  uprising 
(§  780)  perhaps  the  most  formidable  were  the  tribes  of 
Northwestern  Arabia.     We    are  only  beijinnino'  to  learn 

1  The  conquest  of  Elam  is  very  fully  related  from  the  Assyrian  stand- 
point in  V  U.  5,  3G-7,  8.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  the  statue  of  the 
goddess  Nanil-Ishtar,  which  had  been  carried  from  her  temple  at  Erech  to 
Susa  sixteen  hundred  and  thirty-five  years  before,  was  restored  to  its 
original  seat  (V  K.  0,  107  ff.  ;  cf.  §  107). 

-  The  horror  of  mutilation  after  death  was  due  to  the  persuasion  that 
the  life  of  the  spirit-world  was  a  counteri)art  in  its  external  aspects  of  the 
earthly  state  of  existence.  Hence  a  whole  body  meant  an  undivided 
ghost.  But  to  this  was  added  the  belief  that  the  spirit  did  not  leave  the 
uncorrupted  or  unmutilated  body  till  a  certain  period  after  the  f^mt  stage 
of  dissolution  (cf.  John  xi.  '-VJ  ;  Job  xiv.  :;0).  This,  apparently,  is  the 
explanation  of  the  expre.ssion  (luoted  above,  '•  More  dead  than  before 
I  made  him."  and  it  may  account  for  the  eager  ha.ste  with  which  a  fallen 
foe  was  often  beheaded  (1  Sam.  xvii.  4(i.  51). 

s  This  last  episode  of  the  war  with  Elam  and  the  Chaldaeans  is  told 
in  V  R.  7,  9-81. 


3o«)K  VIII 


Ch.  IX,  §  787 


BABYLON  AIDED  BY   ARABS 


373 


the  real  inipoitiince  of  these  peoples  in  ancient  times. 
Frequent  references  have  been  made  to  the  part  they 
played  as  allies  of  the  Egyptians,  as  independent  traders 
of  rich  resources,  and  as  unwilling  subjects  of  the  all- 
subduing  Assyrians  (§§  3o4,  630,  708,  754  f.)-  Since  the 
empire  of  the  Tigris  had  succeeded  in  securing  the  "West- 
land  and  in  concjuering  Egypt,  it  was  of  tiie  very  first 
consequence  that  these  new  possessions  should  be  kept 
free  from  seditious  entanglements  with  the  restless  tribes 
of  the  desert  as  well  as  from  their  raids  over  the  border. 
After  many  costly  attenq)ts  to  put  them  down,  a  policy 
was  instituted  by  Esarhaddon  of  maintaining  among  them 
centres  of  influence  friendly  to  Assyria  and  at  the  same 
time  severely  disciplining  all  maraudeis  and  malcontents 
(§  754  f.).  A  people  less  predisposed  than  these  Bedawin 
to  outside  interference  could  scarcely  be  imagined:  and  it 
is  not  surprising  to  find  that  just  as  two  centuries  before 
they  had  contributed  their  quota  of  men  and  camels  to  the 
defence  of  the  west  country  against  the  encroachments  of 
Shalmaneser  II.  (§  228;,  so  now  the}'  were  not  backward 
in  offering  aid  to  the  wider  movement  for  freedom  and 
revenge.  Accordingly  the  leading  chief  of  the  Arabs  east 
of  Palestine,  Yailta  by  name,  son  of  the  Hazael  of  whom 
we  have  heard  in  Esarhaddon's  wars  ( §  754  f.),^  refused  to 
continue  his  tribute,  and  sent  two  of  his  chiefs  with  a  con- 
tingent of  riders  to  the  assistance  of  the  "  disloyal  brother," 
at  the  opening  of  the  Babylonian  war.  This  took  place,  of 
course,  before  648  u.c.  The  new  problems  and  their  result- 
ing complications  furnished  motives  for  one  of  the  most 
arduous  and  prolonged  of  the  campaigns  of  Asshurbanipal. 
§  787.  We  cannot  here  go  into  tlie  somewhat  obscure 
details  of  the  narrative  of  the  Assyrian  annalists.  The 
main  enterprise,  however,  is  of  great  interest  for  two 
reasons.  Palestine,  especially  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  was 
involved    in   the    same    insurrection.     Besides,   the   story 

1  V  R.  7,  82  ff.;  Cyl.  B.  VII,  87  ff.;  Smitli.  283  ff.,  290  ff.    Cf.  Haupt, 
'•  Wateh-ben-IIazael,"  in  Hthraica,  vol.  i.  (1885). 


;   I- 

u   hi 


I)  i  (I 


^. 


\  < 


I     '      '    !     |F 


ii 

In 


\ 


i    ! 


374 


WAR   WITH   ARAB  TRIBES 


Book  VIII 


\ 


!  ■■\ 


1     '.   ., 


makes  familiar  and  more  real  to  us  several  of  the  Bible 
localities  and  peoples  which  have  as  yet  scarcely  come 
within  the  region  of  actual  knowledge.  We  distinguish 
two  great  divisions  of  Arab  tribes  among  those  with  whom 
the  Assyrians  had  now  to  do.  Yaiita  was  the  leader 
among  the  one  group,  whose  pasture-grounds  and  semi- 
nomadic  settlements  extended  from  the  east  of  Moab  to 
the  north  of  Damascus  as  far  as  Zobah  (cf.  §  202).  The 
Assyrian  posts  along  the  border  were  soon  reinforced  from 
Nineveh,  and  Yaiita,  his  allies,  and  dependents  were  de- 
feated in  a  series  of  encounters  (c.  647  u.c.).  The  Great 
King  describes  the  actions  as  having  been  fought  in  several 
localities  ;  among  others  in  Edom  (^ina  Udumi'),  in  Amnion 
(ina  Blt-Ammdni),  in  the  territory  of  Hauran  («'««  nagl  ^a 
ffinirlna)^  and  of  Zobah  {Sii-bi-ti).  Yaiita  himself  sought 
refuge  in  vain  with  Natnu,  the  king  of  Nebaioth.^  In 
close  union  with  these  more  northerly  tribes  at  this  time 
were  the  people  of  Nebaioth  and  of  Kedar.^  The  chief  of 
the  Kedarenes  joined  in  the  league  against  Assyria.  His 
defeat  was  speedily  effected. 

§  788.     But   unexpected   developments   brought  much 
graver  difficulties  to  the  rulers  at  Nineveh.     The  sons  of 


^  Probably  the  Nabatreans  of  the  cLassical  writers,  who  are  also  famil- 
iar to  lis  from  the  inscriptions  of  about  the  time  of  the  Christian  era 
found  in  Sinai,  Petra,  and  the  Hanran,  and  from  numerous  coins.  For 
Biblical  notices,  see  Gen.  xxv.  l;) ;  xxviii.  9 ;  xxxvi.  3 ;  Isa.  Ix.  7.  Ac- 
cording to  the  last-named  passage  they  were  a  powerful  tribe,  as  possess- 
inc;  immense  herds  of  cattle.  As  In  the  cuneiform  records  they  are 
associated  closely  with  Kedar,  so  also  in  the  Bible,  and  in  Pliny,  Hist. 
Nat.,  V.  II,  (l.j. 

-  It  is  the  northerly  tribes  and  their  neighbours,  lying  to  the  east  also 
of  Palestine,  that  are  called  by  the  general  name  "  Arabs"  in  the  Bible,  in 
the  cuneiform  inscriptions,  and  other  early  documents  (see  Glaser,  Skizze 
Ardhiens,  II,  ol5).  The  others,  such  as  Nebaioth  and  Kedar,  lying  south 
or  southeast  of  Palestine,  are  distinguished  by  their  own  special  names. 
Kedar  lay  to  the  east  of  Nebaioth  as  its  nearest  neighbour.  It  was  a 
powerful  community,  as  one  might  infer  from  the  numerous  references  in 
the  Old  Testament  (Isa.  xxi.  16  f.;  xlii.  11;  Ix.  7;  Jer.  ii.  10  ;  xlix.  28;  Ez. 
xxvii.  21;  Ps.  cxx.  o;  Cant.  i.  o).  For  Kedar  and  Nebaioth  see  especially 
Par.  290  ff.;  KAT.-  U7  f.  ;  and  Glaser,  op.  cit.  311  f. 


'    I  <' 


Book  VIII 


Cii.  IX,  §  788 


KEDAR   AND   NEBAIOTH 


87fi 


Yaiita  had  fared  very  badly  in  the  expedition  for  the  relief 
of  Jiabylon  (§  786),  and  they  gave  themselves  uj)  to 
Asshurbanipal  (648  u.c).  They  were  pardoned  by  him, 
and  upon  the  revolt  of  their  father,  the  elder  brother, 
Abiyate  by  name,  was  made  king  over  the  Kedarenes. 
After  a  time,  however,  the  first  love  and  hate  resumed 
their  rights  in  the  soul  of  this  typical  son  of  the  desert, 
and  he  joined  Natnu,  the  chief  of  Nebaioth,  against 
the  Ninevite  empire.  This  prince,  who  had  formerly 
rejected  Yauta,  the  foe  of  Assyria,  and  left  him  to  some 
m3'sterious  fate,  was  now  ready  to  take  up  arms  in  a 
more  general  revolt,  to  which  Uaite,  the  new  king  of  the 
Arabians,  also  lent  his  aid.  It  was  to  meet  this  formidable 
uprising  that  one  of  the  most  remarkable  expeditions  of 
antiquity  was  organized  and  despatched.  As  the  disturb- 
ances extended  far  to  the  north  in  the  Syro-Arabian  desert, 
and  were  participated  in  by  Aranueans  as  well  as  Arabs, 
the  march  was  not  made  either  from  southern  or  eastern 
Palestine,  but  direct  from  Nineveh  over  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates  and  through  the  desert.  The  description  of  the 
campaign  is  done  in  the  best  style  of  the  later  school  of 
Assja-ian  annalists,  and,  along  with  much  conventional 
bombast,  contains  passages  of  real  rhetorical  excellence. 
For  example,  the  lamentation  of  the  hunted  and  desolate 
Arabians  is  quoted  ^  with  an  exquisite  sense  of  their  suf- 
ferings and  yet  without  a  softening  touch  of  pity  or  com- 
punction, the  whole  series  of  calamities  being  referred,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  to  the  just  vengeance  of  Asshur  upon 
the  violators  of  his  covenant.  The  first  march  of  about 
four  hundred  miles  brought  the  Assyrians  to  the  midst 
of  the  desert  of  Mas,  —  the  Syro-Arabian  desert,  —  where 
the  people  of  Nebaioth  and  their  allies  were  met  and 
overcome,  and  the  survivors  carried  to  Damascus.  That 
central  border-land  city  was  now  made  the  base  of  opera- 
tions, which  were  not  stayed  till  all  the  leaders  of  the 

1  V  R.  9,  68  ff.    The  whole  interesting  record  is  given  in  V  R.  7,  82- 
10,  5,  tlie  longest  of  the  campaign  narratives. 


,''■ 


.■  I 


r: 


!   li 


i;  ,' 


370 


CUXCOMITAXr   KKVOLTS 


UOOK  VIII 


<ii 


i: 


■  I 


insunection  were  lionnnecl  in  and  forced  to  surrender  by 
starviition  or  at  the  point  of  the  sword.  The  fate  of  the 
chief  offenders  was  settled  by  well-approved  processes  in 
Nineveh.^  Along  with  the  multitude  of  prisoners  the 
number  of  cattle  and  camels  taken  to  Assyria  was  so  vast, 
that,  in  the  language  of  the  narrator,  the  land  was  tilled 
with  them  to  the  utmost  corners.  They  were  divided  out 
among  the  people  of  Assyria :  and  the  price  of  a  camel  in 
the  open  market  ran  from  one  and  a  half  silver  shekels  to 
a  half  shekel.- 

§  789.  It  is  related-'^  by  the  Great  King  that  after  his 
defeat  of  the  Arabian  confederates,  and  on  his  return  by 
the  accustomed  seacoast  route,  he  put  down  a  revolt  in 
the  Phu'nician  city  of  Usu,^  as  well  as  in  the  neighbouring 
city  of  Akko.^  The  relations  already  sustained  by  these 
communities  to  Assyria  (cf.  §  675)  seemed  to  necessitate 
rigorous  treatment,  which  was  administered  without  stint. 
The  survivors,  with  their  gods,  were  carried  away  to 
Assyria.  Now  these  insignificant  towns,  which  could  not 
have  taken  independent  action,^  must  nevertheless  have 
been  involved  in  the  larger  conspiracy.  They  seem,  more- 
over, to  liave  been  encouraged,  by  their  position  being  so 
remote  from  the  scene  of  the  principal  actions,  to  withhold 
their  allegiance  until  the  exasperated  conqueror  decided 
upon  extreme  measures.  What  is,  however,  of  most  sig- 
nificance is  the  suggestion  here  afforded  of  the  attitude  of 


1  A  mode  of  punishment  much  affected  by  the  scholarly  and  devout 
Asshurbanipal  was  to  put  his  captives  in  a  cage  along  with  a  luimber  of 
dogs,  and  *'  make  them  keep  watch,  with  chains  about  their  necks,  at  the 
gate  of  Nineveh."     See,  for  example,  V  R.  8,  27  ff.;  9,  103  ff. 

2  V  K.  it,  42  ff.  3  V  R.  9,  115  ff.  *  See  Par.  284  f. 
^  In  the  earlier  days  of  the  empire  revolts  of  petty  communities  here 

and  there  were  frequent  enough,  because  it  was  not  ea.sy  to  reach  them 
or  hold  them  in  check,  without  sending  an  expedition  from  the  capital  or 
adopting  some  other  coercive  manner  involving  excessive  delay  and  ex- 
pense. But  now  that  the  empire  was  thoroughly  organized,  and  military 
stations  were  established  at  many  commanding  points,  no  isolated  dis- 
turbances were  possible  except  such  as  did  not  rise  beyond  the  dignity  of 
riots. 


Book  VUI 

1 — 

'nder  by 
te  of  the 
3esses  in 
tiers  the 
so  viist, 
as  filled 
ided  out 
camel  in 
lekels  to 

after  his 

jtiirn  by 

•evolt  in 

ibouring 

by  these 

cessitate 

)ut  stint. 

away   to 

Duld  not 

3SS  have 

n,  more- 

)eing  so 

ithhold 

decided 

ost  sig- 

litude  of 

|id  devout 

lumber  of 

:s,  at  the 

lar.  284  f. 

5  here 

ich  them 

l^apital  or 

and  ex- 

miUtary 

ited  dis- 

lignity  of 


Ch.  IX,  §  TOO  MANASSr.II   A   rAUTICirANT  ;;77 

Palestine  generallv  towards  the  insurrection.  It  is  absurd 
to  supi)()se  that  these  cities  undertook  to  revolt  with  the 
JKicking  of  the  Bedawin  and  semi-nomads  alone.  They 
must  have  had  the  sympathy  and  su[)port  of  more  power- 
ful neighbours.  Who  were  their  allies?  The  description 
given  of  the  earlier  conllicts  with  the  desert  warriors 
(§  TST)  makes  it  plain  that  Palestine  east  of  the  Jordan 
was  in  active  sympathy  with  the  insurgents.  But  these 
were  also  too  remote  from  the  outlying  I'hu'nician  seaports 
to  give  them  substantial  help  at  need.  The  inference  is  ol> 
vious  that  some  considerable  portion  of  western  Palestine 
had  [)rompted  these  disturbances.  Within  this  territory 
there  was  now  only  one  community  in  a  position  to  take 
such  a  step,  namely,  the  kingdom  of  Judah.  For  with  this 
exception  the  whole  country  west  of  the  Jordan  was  now 
under  direct  Assyrian  administration. 

§  700.  Yet  in  the  annals  of  Asshurbanipal,  which  re- 
count these  affairs  so  completely,  there  is  no  mention  of 
any  uprising  on  the  part  of  the  Judaite  monarchy.  We 
find  indeed  an  allusion  in  the  Hebrew  literature  itself  which 
appears  to  satisfy  the  requirements  of  the  situation.  In 
2  Chr.  xxxiii.,  after  an  account  of  the  infidelity  and  idola- 
trous practices  of  the  king  of  Judah,  Manasseh  the  son  of 
Hezekiah,  the  narrative  goes  on  to  relate  (vs.  10-13): 
"  And  Jehovah  spoke  to  Manasseh  and  to  his  people  ;  but 
they  gave  no  heed.  And  Jehovah  brought  upon  them  the 
captains  of  the  host  of  the  king  of  Assyria.  And  they 
made  Manasseh  prisoner  with  hooks,  and  bound  him  with 
fetters,  and  led  him  to  Babylon.  And  when  he  was  in  dis- 
tress he  besought  Jehovah  his  God,  and  humbled  himself 
greatly  before  the  God  of  his  fathers.  And  he  prayed  unto 
him,  and  he  was  propitiated  by  him  and  heard  his  suppli- 
cation, and  restored  him  to  Jerusalem  to  his  kingdom.  So 
Manasseh  knew  that  Jehovah  was  God."  In  trying  to  re- 
gard this  episode  from  the  true  historical  standpoint  we  find 
ourselves  brought  once  more  directly  to  our  central  theme 
—  Israel  in  its  relations  to  its  dominant  environment.    We 


1' 


1  I 


!  :  ! 


378 


JUDAH   IN   THE   INTERVAL 


Book  VIII 


Mi 


n  '!! 


:»    i\ 


m 


accordingly  need  to  take  a  brief  survey  of  the  political  his- 
tory of  Judali  from  the  point  where  it  was  broken  off,  leaving 
for  later  consideration  its  religious  and  moral  features. 

§  791.  The  recuperation  of  the  territory  of  Judah  after 
its  desolation  by  the  army  of  Sinacherib  went  on  slowly 
but  surely  for  many  years.  The  devastation  was  so  wide- 
spread and  complete  that  it  was  not  till  the  spring  of  G99 
B.C.  that  agricultural  operations  were  resumed  on  an  exten- 
sive scale  ( §  721).  The  loss  of  over  two  hundred  thousand 
of  the  population,  most  of  whom  would  naturally  be  heads 
of  families,  placed  a  heavy  burden  on  those  who  remained. 
The  repairing  or  rebuilding  of  the  houses,  the  restoration  of 
city  walls,  the  reclamation  of  fugitive  children  and  rela- 
tives, must  have,  occupied  many  long  and  anxious  months. 
Jerusalem  was  indeed  intact,  and  within  its  defences  had 
no  doubt  been  gathered  many  from  the  surrounding  coun- 
try (cf.  §  352 ).  But  within  the  forty-six  fortified  towns 
taken  by  storm  were  also  found  many  refugees  whose  fate 
was  death  or  exile.  Moreover,  the  second  inroad  of  Sin- 
acherib (§  696)  must  have  taken  the  people  by  surprise, 
and  rendered  access  difficult  to  the  central  city  of  refuge. 
Nothing  is  told  us  of  the  details  of  these  pathetic  attempts 
to  retrieve  the  irretrievable.  While  to  multitudes  it  meant 
the  beginning  of  life  over  again,  to  the  chastened  Hezekiah 
and  his  counsellors  it  meant  the  reconstruction  of  the  state 
upon  new  foundations. 

§  792.  We  must  not  suppose,  however,  that  there  had 
been  any  serious  loss  of  proper  territory.  True,  Sinacherib 
transferred  (§  675)  certain  districts  formerly  controlled 
by  Hezekiah  to  the  domains  of  Ashdod,  Ekron,  and  Gaza ; 
but  practically  this  amounted  to  little  or  nothing  more 
than  the  restitution  of  lands  normally  Philistian,  of  which 
the  king  of  Judah  had  despoiled  these  principalities  (2  K. 
xviii.  8 ;  §  651).  Their  retention  after  the  calamities  of 
Judah  would  in  any  case  have   been   impossible.^      The 


1  With  a  startling  misconception  of  the  condition  of  Judah  after  the 
Assyrian  invasion,  Stade  (GVI.  I,  624)  gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  it  was 


Book  VIII 

i 
itical  lus- 
f,  leaving 
;ures. 
dah  after 
in  slowly 
so  wide- 
ig  of  699 
an  exten- 
thousand 
be  heads 
I'emained. 
oration  of 
and  rela- 
s  months, 
snces  had 
ing  conn- 
ed towns 
^hose  fate 
d  of  Sin- 
surprise, 
f  refuge, 
attempts 
it  meant 
ezekiah 
the  state 

iiere  had 
Inacherib 
)ntrolled 
Gaza ; 
iig  move 
M  which 

5S  (2  K. 

lities  of 
II      The 

after  the 
liat  it  was 


Cii.  IX,  §  793  RELATIONS   WITH   ASSYRIA 


379 


prostration  of  Palestine  generally  after  the  Assyrian 
scourge  had  done  its  work  disinclined  the  petty  com- 
munities towards  reciprocal  aggression,  and  Judah  was 
at  liberty  to  work  out  its  own  destiny,  of  course  under  the 
continued  overlordship  of  the  Great  King. 

§  793.  Any  thought  of  further  revolt  against  Assyria 
was  out  of  the  question.  We  grossly  misconceive  Lhe 
whole  political  situation  if  we  suppose  that  the  disaster 
which  befell  the  army  of  Sinacherib  in  the  autumn  of 
701  weakened  upon  the  whole  the  prestige  of  Assyria  in  tlic 
West.  Though  Sinacherib  and  his  forces  had  vanished, 
the  permanent  garrisons  remained  in  the  country,  and  the 
provinces  were  administered  from  Nineveh  as  before.  The 
retention  of  the  fortresses  of  Palestine  and  all  their  bases  of 
supply  was  a  matter  vital  to  the  very  existence  of  tlie  em- 
pire. That  Sinacherib  did  not  succeed  in  conquering  Jeru- 
salem was  no  proof  of  inability  to  hold  Palestine  against  all 
comers.  The  least  sign  of  waning  power  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean coast-land  would  have  been  a  virtual  notitication  to 
Egypt  that  she  might  enter  in  and  take  possession.  But 
the  Assyrians  had  in  701  actually  extended  their  direct 
influence  in  Palestine,  had  besides  beaten  the  Egyptians 
out  of  that  country,  and  had  retired  at  last,  not  before  a 
more  powerful  enemy,  but  only  before  unmistakable  por- 
tents of  celestial  displeasure.  Least  of  all  could  Judah, 
prostrate,  bleeding,  and  more  than  decimated,  dream  for 
many  a  year  of  asserting  an  independence  which  at  best 
could  be  gained  and  maintained  only  by  the  help  of  a  com- 
bination of  powerful  nationalities.  We  do  not  forget  the 
failure  and  rebuff  of  Sinacherib.  Put  the  significance  fen- 
Jerusalem  of  that  exceptional  episode  was  simpl}-  this,  that 
it  and  its  dependent  territory  were  saved  from  Ijccomiiig 
an  Assyrian  province.     There  was  a  world-wide  difference 

at  this  kiter  time  that  Judali  aciiuired  tlie  Pliilistian  territory  meiitioiietl 
ill  2  K.  xviii.  8.  Tliat  KwaUl,  Ifistory  of  Ism<:l  (Engl,  tr.),  iv.  18(3,  lichl 
a  similar  view  was  natural  enough  in  his  comparatively  uiiunliiihlened 
time. 


*;.  I  I 


r 


ii 


380 


JUDAH   LET   ALONE   BY   ASSYRIA 


Book  VIII 


i         L 


between  the  continuance  of  such  autonomous  vassalajje^as 
Hezekiah  had  inherited  from  his  fatlier,  under  the  suze- 
rainty which  Sargon  had  passed  on  to  Sinacherib,  and  an 
obliteration  of  all  political  and  social  rights,  along  with  tlie 
religious  disabilities  which  must  surely  have  followed  in  its 
train.  On  the  other  hand,  the  wreaking  of  vengeance  upon 
Jerusalem,  such  as  that  which  was  afterwards  inflicted 
upon  Babylon  (§  740),  was  not  beyond  the  bounds  of  pos- 
sibility under  a  prince  who  had  already  shown  himself  to 
be  so  cruel  and  remorseless.  While  Hezekiah  and  Isaiah 
lived,  no  such  tempting  of  Providence  would  again  be  ven- 
tured as  that  which  had  brought  almost  total  ruin  upon 
city  and  country  alike.  On  the  whole,  Hezekiah  and  his 
little  "remnant"  had  enough  to  do  to  rebuild  the  shattered 
fabric  of  the  state,  to  restore  the  waste  places  of  Judah, 
and  in  general  to  cultivate  the  arts  of  peace  and  the  ser- 
vices of  the  religion  of  Jehovah,  vindicated  b}'  the  great 
deliverance. 

§  794.  Under  ordinary  conditions  a  countrj"-  devas- 
tated by  the  Assyrian  armies  might  expect  aid  from  the 
conquerors  themselves  in  its  renewal  and  restoration.  It 
Avas  an  essential  element  in  the  imperial  Assyrian  policy 
that,  while  rebels  should  be  severely  punished,  thei''  lands, 
as  tributary  to  the  empire,  should  be  conserved  and  devel- 
oped. Hence  it  was  a  necessary  feature  of  the  sj'stem  of 
deportation  that,  in  place  of  the  nations  of  the  country, 
who  were  transplanted  to  remote  districts  also  under  the 
sway  of  the  Great  King,  others  should  be  introduced,  with 
the  twofold  purpose  of  habituating  them  to  direct  control 
from  Nineveh,  and  of  promoting  the  productiveness  of  the 
land  and  its  prospective  value  to  the  empire.  The  wisest 
and  best  of  the  Assyrian  kings  adopted  this  policy  towards 
Samaria  long  after  its  conquest  (see  §  799).  Sinaclierib. 
after  \vasting  the  country  of  Judah  with  fire  and  sword,  loft 
it  to  itself.  The  attitude  of  the  conqueror  towards  Judah 
was,  in  all  respects,  exceptional  and  notal)le.  Why  lie 
should  not  have  occupied  it  after  its  devastation,  contigu- 


Book  VIII 

3siilage,as 
the  suze- 
b,  and  an 
f  with  tlie 
wed  in  its 
mce  upon 
inflicted 
ds  of  pos- 
limself  to 
md  Isaiah 
in  be  ven- 
•uin  upon 
h  and  his 
shattered 
of  Judah, 
d  the  ser- 
the  great 

r}'  devas- 

from  the 

ation.     It 

an  policy 

ei''  lands, 

nd  devel- 

Isystem  of 

country, 

nder  the 

[ced,  with 

t  control 

ss  of  the 

le  wisest 

■  towards 

Inacherib. 

:ord.  left 

Is  Judah 

Wliy  he 

contigu- 


Cii.  IX,  §  790        LESSONS   OF   NATIONAL  TRIAL 


381 


ous  as  it  was  to  other  Assyrian  possessions,  and  easily  kept 
under  control,  can  onl}'  be  accounted  for  on  the  liy})(>thesis 
of  his  aversion  to  having  any  further  dealings  witli  a  land 
so  ill-omened  for  Assyria  (§  732).  Such  neglect  of  a 
country  whose  ruin  he  had  well  nigh  accomplished,  while 
it  may  have  retarded  its  material  development,  was  never- 
theless of  moral  and  religious  advantage  to  the  surviving 
inhabitants. 

§  795.  In  caring  for  the  kingdom  thus  remitted  to  his 
charge  by  the  Assyrian  invader,  and  in  cariying  out  more 
earnest  and  effective  measures  for  the  reformation  of  re- 
ligion, the  remaining  ten  years  of  the  life  of  Hezekiah 
passed  peacefully  away.  The  political  quiet  which  reigned 
throughout  the  land,  while  it  was  favourable  to  the  former 
task  (§  791  f.),  was  equally  so  to  the  latter.  The  whole- 
some lesson  had  been  taught  more  powerfully  by  the  prac- 
tical discipline  of  war  and  devastation  than  by  the  aj^peals 
and  denunciations  of  Isaiah,  that  plots  and  conspiracies 
and  seditions  against  Assyria  only  unfitted  the  Hebrew 
people  for  their  true  mission.  It  put  into  clear  relief  the 
essential  nature  of  Israel's  struggle  for  its  real  interests, 
which  lay  in  the  conservation  and  cultivation  of  the  re- 
ligion of  Jehovah.  The  net  results  oi  the  unequal  conflict 
were,  first,  that  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  with  its  central  city, 
was  allowed  to  survive ;  and,  second,  that  it  Avas  allowed 
to  retain  its  position  as  a  state  on  probation ;  suspected 
indeed,  but  yet  tolerated  on  condition  of  regular  payment 
of  tribute.  There  was  therefore  no  question,  while  the 
country  remained  quiescent,  of  forcing  upon  it  either  for- 
eign officials  or  alien  gods. 

§  796.  Equally  favourable  to  Isaiah's  particular  plans  of 
religious  reform  was  the  outward  condition  of  the  country  at 
large.  The  reformation  had  man}'  details  of  stricter  and  more 
earnest  ritual  (2  Chr.  xxix.-xxxi.).  But  its  great  distinc- 
tion was  that  which  in  its  earlier  stages  had  been  noticed 
even  by  the  officers  of  Sinacherib  (2  K.  xviii.  22);  namely, 
the  centralization  of  the  sacrificial  services  in  Jerusalem, 


i  ^ 


' 


i-i  i 


;  ■ 


88a 


CENTHALIZATION  OF   WORSHIP 


Book  VIII 


"What  could  be  more  propitious  for  this  enterprise  than  the 
state  of  the  country  at  large  in  its  humiliation  and  desola-r 
tion?  It  was  the  local  sanctuaries  and  the  stated  \A'orship 
and  the  ministry  of  the  attendant  priesthood  that  gave 
prestige  to  the  towns  in  their  respective  neighbourhoods 
throughout  the  land.  These  were,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
dismantled  and  disbanded  by  the  "servants  of  Asshur"  in 
their  campaign  of  devastation  ;  and  their  restoration  could 
only  be  accelerated  with  the  rapid  return  of  population 
and  prosperity.  The  observance  of  these  conditions  made 
it  easy  for  Hezekiah  and  his  dominant  counsellor  to  per- 
suade the  surviving  votaries  of  former  shrines  to  resort  to 
the  central  sanctuary  on  Mount  Zion.  What  was  of  equal 
importance,  especially  for  the  first  decisive  movements 
towards  centralization,  was  the  outstanding  fact  that  Jeru- 
salem, the  special  seat  of  Jehovah,  had  been  spared,  while 
the  territory  overlooked  by  the  "  high  places "  had  wit- 
nessed the  triumph  and  listened  to  the  blasphemies  of  the 
enemies  of  Jehovah  and  his  people.^  An  inevitable  result, 
in  any  case,  must  have  been  a  large  permanent  accession 
to  the  population  of  Jerusalem.  On  all  grounds  a  rare 
opportunity  was  now  afforded  for  the  completion  of  the 
work  of  reform  in  ritual  and  worship. 

§  797.  Hezekiah,  as  we  have  seen  (§  638),  must  have  died 
about  690  B.C.  Our  data  make  him  to  have  been  forty-four 
years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death.  The  very  tender  age  at 
whicli  his  son  Manasseh,  probably  his  eldest-born,  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne  is  additional  evidence  that  he  passed 
away  as  a  comparatively  3'oung  man.  Yet  his  life  had 
been  eventful,  and  of  great  importance  for  the  history  and 


1  Compare  the  argument  of  P.s.  Ixxiv.  8-10,  applying  to  somewhat  sim- 
ilar conditions,  though  in  a  later  age.  We  must  not  overlook  the  fact 
that  the  hardships  of  the  deposed  priests  and  the  officials  of  the  local 
sanctuaries  must  liave  been  much  less  than  if  they  had  been  summarily 
expt'lled  in  a  time  of  peace  and  prosperity.  F.  W.  Newman,  Ilistonj  of 
the  Ifebrew  Mnnairhy  (3d  edition,  1805),  p.  290,  has  some  creditable  but, 
as  we  can  now  see,  exaggerated  expressions  of  sympathy  for  these  suf- 
ferers at  the  hands  of  the  reforming  party. 


Cm.  IX,  §  708     HKZKKIAH  — HIS  WOHK  AND  ErOCII 


destiny  of  his  people.  His  reign  is  marked  by  three  mon- 
umental distinctions.  The  first  was  that  in  spite  of  early 
successes  in  aggressive  conquest  and  diplomacy  their  final 
issue  brought  about  the  adoption  of  the  prophetic  policy  of 
national  quiescence  and  trust  in  Jehovah.  The  second  was 
the  reformation  in  worship  which  was  promoted  so  largely 
through  the  changed  political  conditions.  The  third  was 
the  composition  and  publication  of  the  most  powerful  and 
fai'-reaching  of  the  Old  Testament  prophecies.  This  was 
an  age  of  great  issues  and  decisive  events  in  that  little  cor- 
ner of  the  world  where  the  world's  fate  was  being  prepared. 
The  most  significant  of  all  its  lessons  was  one  which  was 
probably  not  understood  by  any  except  Isaiah  and  his  dis- 
ciples, as  indeed  the  complete  apprehension  of  such  a  lesson 
is  rarely  within  the  reach  of  contemporaries.  Under 
Hezekiah  the  sceptre  was  departing  from  Judah ;  but  in 
his  time  were  forged  some  of  those  spiritual  Aveapons  which 
have  reclaimed  for  the  kingdom  of  God  a  territory  much 
vaster  than  all  that  was  wasted  by  the  Assyrian.  As  for 
Hezekiah  himself,  it  is  no  detraction  to  say  that  he  was  not 
always  equal  to  his  opportunities  or  his  duty.  He  was 
not  in  any  sense  a  great  king.  But  few  kings  in  any  age 
have  been  great  men,  and  still  fewer  have  been  good.  It 
is  only  just  to  say  that  he  stands  out  in  moral  stature  above 
all  the  preceding  kings  of  Israel  or  Judah.  His  errors  of 
ambition  and  intrigue  were  those  of  an  inherited  policy 
and  were  committed  by  him  while  still  a  youth.  His  con- 
spicuous merit  is  that  in  his  afflictions  and  reverses  he  sin- 
cerely humbled  himself  (Isa.  xxxvii.  1  ff. ;  xxxviii.  9  ff.), 
and  that  he  bent  himself  at  last  without  reserve  to  the  pro- 
phetic work  and  purpose.  He  has  thereby  gained  a  renown 
more  just  than  the  adventitious  distinction  which  has  asso- 
ciated his  name  with  the  golden  age  of  Hebrew  literature. 
§  798.  Manasseh,  the  son^  of  Hezekiah  (690-640),  came 
to  the  throne  of  Judah  under  circumstances  quite  different 


1  Possibly  not  his  only  son  ;  see  the  prediction  Isa.  xxxix.  7.    The  asser- 
tions of  Siuacherib  (§  675,  Col.  Ill,  38),  which  seem  to  throw  further 


Hi' 


«:■    .v 


384 


EARLY   YEARS  OF   MANASSEH 


Book  VIII 


I'l 


V    .( 


'.'  ■    i 


from  those  which  had  attended  the  accession  of  any  of  his 
predecessors.  The  most  important  outward  change  was 
that  which  had  converted  the  territory  outside  of  Jerusa- 
lem into  an  appanage  of  the  capital,  such  as  it  continued  to 
be  until  the  close  of  the  monarchy.^  Of  the  details  of 
his  civil  government  we  have  little  or  no  information.  Of 
one  thing  we  may  be  sure,  that  no  serious  disturbance  in 
any  important  line  of  policy  was  made  during  the  years  of 
liis  minority.  Centralization  of  government  as  well  as  of 
worship  being  a  sure  tendency  of  absolute  monarchy,  this 
was  perhaps  the  only  marked  political  and  social  feature 
of  his  earlier  years.  Upon  another  important  point  we  can 
speak  with  confidence.  Sinacherib  did  not  cease  to  rule  in 
Nineveh  till  Manasseh  had  been  about  ten  years  upon  the 
throne.  Non-interference  of  Assyria  in  Palestine  was  con- 
tinued by  Esarhaddon,  so  that  we  must  consider  the  first 
twenty  years  of  the  long  reign  of  INIanasseh  to  have  been 
free  from  harmful  complications  with  the  controlling  state. 
What  these  years  brought  to  Jerusalem,  Bible  readers  well 
know. 

§  799.  The  change  of  religious  policy  in  Judah  so  pro- 
nounced and  disastrous  was,  we  may  safely  assume,  in- 
augurated about  680  B.C.  At  that  time  Manasseh  must 
have  attained  to  the  years  of  independent  action ;  and  as 
Isaiah  and  his  chief  supporters  had  passed  from  the  scene, 
no  opposition  was  given  to  the  wild  impulses  of  a  misguided 
youth.  Another  coincidence  it  may  be  proper  to  note.  It 
was  at  this  date  that  a  new  king  came  to  the  throne  of 


light  upon  the  household  circumstances  of  Hezekiah,  are  merely  the  regu- 
lar form  of  statement  made  in  recounting  the  subjection  of  a  rival  king. 

1  Notice,  as  bearing  upon  this  revolution,  the  contrast  presented  by  the 
later  portion  of  the  prophecy  of  Micah  compared  with  the  earlier.  In  the 
one  case  (chs.  ii.  and  iii. )  the  evils  condemned  by  the  prophet  are  those 
practised  by  great  country  landholders,  as  well  as  the  nobles  of  the  capital. 
In  the  other  case  it  is  the  iniquities  of  city  life  that  are  expressly  censured 
(vi.  9  £f.).  It  is  indeed  a  question  whether  the  latest  chapters  were  not 
written  by  Micah  himself  (§  595),  now  living  in  Jerusalem,  to  which  we 
may  perhaps  assume  that  he  retired  after  the  devastation  of  his  country 
home  by  the  Assyrians  (ch.  i.  14  ff. ;  cf.  §  791,  790). 


!HB 


Book  VIII 


I  of  any  of  his 
d  change  was 
lide  of  Jerusa- 
t  continued  to 
the  details  of 
arniation.     Of 
listiirbance  in 
ig  the  years  of 
'  as  well  as  of 
nonarchy,  this 
social  feature 
t  point  we  can 
ease  to  rule  in 
ears  upon  the 
itine  was  con- 
sider the  first 
.  to  have  been 
trolling  state. 
3  readers  well 

Tudali  so  pro- 
r  assume,  in- 
masseh  must 
ition ;  and  as 
>m  the  scene, 
a  misguided 
to  note.  It 
le  throne  of 

iierely  the  regu- 
a  rival  king, 
rosfuted  by  the 
earlier.  In  the 
iphet  are  those 
s  of  the  capital, 
ressly  censured 
pters  were  not 
n,  to  which  we 
of  his  coiintrv 


Ch.  IX,  §  799 


NEW   RELIGIOUS  I^*LirT 


385 


Assyria.  Now  it  may  be  observed  llnat  the  religious  revo- 
lutions which  took  place  in  Is;raiell  hzd  Lfenerally  behind 
them  a  political  occasion.  Thus  tine  idolatrous  career  of 
Ahaz  was  begun  after  he  had  comie  ramtler  obligations  to 
Assyria  (§  336).  The  reform  of  Hiezekiah  was  [)romoted 
through  the  withdrawal  of  Sinach^nk  And  the  later  re- 
form under  Josiah  was  undertak<-iii  when  the  power  of 
Assyria,  hitherto  predominant,  had  tjKriran  its  rapid  decline 
(cf.  §  828).  Manasseh  necessarily  ^iifer  appeared  in  Nine- 
veh personally  to  render  homage  to  E*airEa.<ldon  and  his  gods 
or  was  represented  there  by  his  aiiiJjiaL**^flor.  What  more 
natural  than  that  he,  like  Ahaz,  ijia  samilar  circumstances 
(§  640),  should  be  impressed  by  the  |)«otinap  and  splendour  of 
the  worship  of  the  great  gods  of  \iDeTc-!ii.and  thereby  moved 
to  introduce  it  into  the  temple  servk-ie* '  That  the  type  of 
religious  observances  promoted  by  MamaAseh  was  Assyrio- 
Babylonian  is  clear  from  the  laugiiia';^*?  of  2  K.  xxi.  5,  6, 
which  tells  us  of  sacrifices  to  the  Ibio*tt  of  heaven  and  in 
general  of  the  astrological  basis  of  line  favourite  mode  of 
worship.  We  are  concerned  witL  tbie  matter  just  now 
chiefly  for  its  political  bearings.  Tliie  mmot^t  obvious  infer- 
ence from  the  facts  related  is  that  (diaring  ^he  decisive 
years  of  this  period  of  religious  reaictiio-n  the  kingdom  of 
Judah  was  studiously  subservient  U*  ttBne  ruling  state,  and 
that  the  anomalous  attitude  maimitaiiiiiied  hy  Sinacherib 
towards  the  once  turbulent  princijalitj  kud  given  place  to 
one  of  active  interest.  A  proof  of  stmeh  concern  on  the 
part  of  Esarhaddon  in  the  affairs  oi  Palestine  is  shown  in 
his  settling  Samaria  with  colonists  inmi  the  eastern  por- 
tion of  his  dominions,  who  seem  iiuKlecfJ  to  have  formed 
the  main  elements  in  the  permamtemit  population  of  the 
country  (Ezra  iv.  2).  The  same  j>otIliey  was  followed  by 
Asshurbanipal  in  the  earlier  years  of  hu  reign  (Ezra  iv.  9, 
10),  who  as  the  conqueror  of  Susa  «§  7^5)  transplanted 
thither  people  of  that  city,^  of  BaWionii,  Erech,  and  other 
less  known  localities. 


il. 


1  Cf.  I'ar.  p.  ;;^, 


2c 


380 


DKCLIN'K   (»F    l'K(»I'HETISM 


Hook  VIII 


i"!         :    i 


§  800.  The  most  marked  feature  of  the  internal  \\ie 
and  history  of  tlie  Judaite  monarchy  was  the  rejection  of 
the  prophetic  control  in  the  policy  of  tlie  state.  This  was 
inseparable  from  the  loss  of  prestige  whicli  the  Prophets 
suffered  from  the  degradation  of  the  worship  of  Jehovah. 
Their  counsel  invariably  was  to  hold  a  middle  course  be- 
tween  restless  intrigue  against  Ass3'ria,  which  had  brought 
untold  calamities  upon  the  state,  and  that  obsequious  cul- 
tivation of  Assyrian  patronage  which  surely  resulted  in 
moral  and  religious  evils  still  more  disastrous.  That  they 
should  have  been  at  once  put  into  the  background  was  inev- 
itable. And  yet  it  is  remarkable  tliat  scarcely  a  pro[)hetic 
voice  was  raised  during  all  those  j-ears  for  purity  of  morals 
or  of  religion.  Micah,  indeed,  in  the  closing  days  of  his 
career,  arraigns  with  dramatic  force  the  false  religion,  the 
gloomy  unspiritual  ritualism,  and  the  reckless  immorality 
and  dishonesty  of  the  capital  (ch.  vi.).  But  the  very  ab- 
sence of  his  old  aggressive  bitterness  is  an  evidence  that 
he  came  less  into  public  view  than  in  the  days  of  the  ear- 
lier struggle.  He  was  indeed  the  last  of  that  great  order 
of  Prophets  which  began  when  Assyria  was  first  looming 
up  on  the  Jiorizon  of  Israel,  and  ended  with  its  swift 
decline.  :  .     . 

§  801.  Thus  the  years  went  on  till  the  time  of  general 
commotion  came  which  resulted  finally  in  the  downfall 
of  Babylonian  independence,  the  devastation  and  annexa- 
tion of  Elam,  and  the  scourging  of  the  tribes  of  Northern 
Arabia  (§  776  ff.).  In  connection  witli  these  larger  upris- 
ings came  those  smaller  insurrections  whose  association 
with  the  leading  centres  of  disturbance  has  already  been 
shown  (§  786  ff.).  At  last  Judah  itself  joined  the  list  of 
disaffected  states  (§  790).  Its  share  in  the  rebellion  was 
brief  and  inglorious.  An  armed  force  overran  the  country. 
The  capital  was  sacrificed  without  resistance.  Manasseh 
was  taken  and  carried  to  Nineveh.^ 

1"  Babylon"  is  mentioned  as  the  place  of  banisliment,  instead  of 
Nineveh,  by  a  natural  mistake  of  tlie  writer  or  perhaps  of  some  copyist. 


^-Mi 


Cii.  IX,  §  803         THE   UKVOLT   AM)   ITS   DATK 


;!87 


s^  802.  It  may  niiturally  be  asked  how  it  is  known  that 
Assliurbanipal  and  not  Esavhaddon  was  the  ruling  king 
when  this  revolution  took  place  in  Judali.  The  question 
is  already  virtually  answered  in  the  preceding  narrative. 
There  was  no  opportunity  or  indeed  possibility  of  such 
a  change  of  attitude  on  the  part  of  INIanasseh  during  the 
earlier  reign.  Nor  was  the  motive  of  a  rebellion  under 
Assliurbanipal  very  obvious.  We  are,  indeed,  not  to  un- 
derstand that  Judah  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  insur- 
rection. IMost  probaljly  it  wjis  rather  guilty  of  negotiation 
with  the  Arab  tribes  of  the  border  (§  786  ff.)  than  of 
armed  resistance  to  the  Assyrians.  It  may  possibly  have 
been  the  Arabs  who,  before  the  arrival  of  the  Assyrian 
reinforcements,  by  terrorism  and  a  system  of  blackmail, 
secured  the  promise  of  assistance  from  Jerusalem.  This 
was  sufficient  to  bring  summary  chastisement  from  the 
Assyrian  over-lord.  We  may  notice  how  strikingly  the 
account  in  Chronicles  illustrates  the  character  of  the  war- 
fare of  Assliurbanipal.  According  to  his  peculiar  wont 
he  did  not  proceed  in  person,  but  it  was  "  the  captains  of 
the  host "  (xxxiii.  11)  who  carried  Manasseh  to  Babylon. 
"  Hooks  "  (cf.  2  K.  xix.  28)  were  used  to  secure  the  cap- 
tive king  —  a  favourite  procedure  of  the  same  Assyrian 
monarch  so  noted  for  his  whimsical  cruelty.^ 

§  803.  It  may  be  asked  further,  "  Why  then  was  this 
transaction  not  mentioned  in  the  annals  of  Assliurbani- 
pal?" The  answer  is  that  these  records  do  not  contain 
an  account  of  all  the  numbeiless  details  of  provincial  wars. 
Only  events  of  essential  moment  were  recorded,  particu- 
larly those  which  affected  the  status  of  the  empire  as  a 
whole.  Doubtless  a  multitude  of  other  princes,  before 
and  after  this  episode,  shared  the  fate  of  Manasseh  for 
similar  offences.  Moreover,  the  disturbance  was  not  so 
marked,  because  Manasseh  submitted  without  resistance. 
Hence,  also,  his  kingdom  was  not  annexed.  Nor  was  he 
himself  subjected  either  to  death  or  permanent  captivity. 

1  V  R.  9,  105  ff. 


I  I 


\\  i 


I 


ii 


It 


388 


MANASSKirs   KXILK;    HIS  INFLLKXCK      Book  VIII 


Indeed,  he  was  at  last  included  among  the  nuniher  of  pris- 
oners of  rank  who  found  grace  in  the  eyes  of  the  tyrant. 

§  804.  According  to  the  Biblical  narrative  (2  Chr. 
xxxiii.  12  f.)  ^lanasseh's  captivity  was  to  him  a  means 
of  grace  and  an  occasion  of  repentance.  In  answer  to  his 
prayer  to  Jehovah,  whom  he  had  slighted  and  dishonoured, 
deliverance  was  granted  him  and  restoration  to  his  home 
and  kingdom.  Now  at  las^t  he  began  to  show  symptoms 
of  right  kingly  sense.  He  manifested  a  regard  not  merely 
for  the  material  defences  of  his  country  (v.  14),  but  above 
all  an  endeavour  to  undo,  as  far  as  might  be,  the  evils  which 
had  been  wrought  through  his  cruelties  and  immoralities. 
He  liad  not  very  long  to  labour  in  this  laudable  work.  He 
died  about  640  B.C.,  seven  years  after  the  defeat  of  the 
border  Arabians  (§  787),  which  we  have  assumed  to  be 
nearly  synchronous  with  the  beginning  of  his  captivity. 
It  would  appear  from  this  that  he  was  liberated  not  very 
long  after  his  imprisonment  had  begun. 

§  805.  jNIanasseh's  long  reign  was  upon  the  whole  one 
rather  of  moral  than  of  political  decline.  The  kingdom 
could  not  but  continue  for  some  time  to  recuperate  under 
the  peaceful  r<3gime  of  Esarhaddon  and  the  early  3-ears  of 
his  successor.  Compromised  as  it  was  by  the  treachery  of 
its  king  towards  the  Assyrians,  it  does  not  seem  to  have 
suffered  permanently  in  consequence.  On  the  other  hand, 
a  general  deterioration  must  have  been  the  result  of  the 
religious  reaction.  There  is  too  much  reason  to  believe 
that  the  "  innocent  blood "  which  Manasseh  shed  so  pro- 
fusely in  Jerusalem  was  to  a  great  extent  at  least  that  of 
the  adherents  of  the  refoi-ming  party  and  its  leaders  the 
prophetic  guild.^     In  the  fury  of  persecuting  zeal  many  of 

1  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  tlie  story  thcat  Isaiah  at  the  age  of  ne.arly 
ninety  was  sawn  asunder  by  the  order  of  Manasseh  has  only  tlie  authority 
of  remote  tradition  ;  see  Driver,  IsrtiaJi,  hin  Life  and  Times,  p.  2.  It  is 
not  impossible  (Hebr.  xi.  .37);  and  there  is  no  objection  to  it  on  the  score 
of  the  time  of  Isaiah's  life.  If  he  was  thirty  years  old  in  738  u.c.  (§  209; 
Isa.  vi.  1),  he  must  have  been,  if  living,  about  eighty-eight  at  the  date  of 
the  persecution  (cf.  §  700). 


1 


iA- 


Book  VIII 

•  of  prikS- 
yrant. 
(2  Chr. 
a  means 
er  to  his 
onoured, 
lis  1 10111  e 
pnptonis 
it  merely 
ut  above 
ils  which 
oralities. 
ork.  He 
it  of  the 
eel  to  be 
iaptivity. 
not  very 

rhole  one 
kingdom 
e  under 
ears  of 
cheiy  of 
to  have 
er  hand, 
of  the 
believe 
so  pro- 
that  of 
ers  the 
many  of 

of  nearly 
authority 
2.  It  is 
the  score 
c.  (§209; 
16  date  of 


C'li.  IX,  ^  1*07 


BRIEF   CAREER   OF   A.MON 


380 


those  who  still  preferred  unmixed  Jehovah  worship  would 
naturally  be  made  to  share  their  fate.  Thus  the  best  blond 
of  the  community  was  poured  out  like  water,  and  both  the 
head  and  heart  of  the  state  were  smitten  with  a  deadly 
wound. 

^  806.  Manasseh  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Anion 
(G40-()39  B.C.).  Unlike  liis  predecessor  and  successor, 
he  was  a  mature  man  when  he  came  to  the  throne,^  and 
thus  entered  upon  his  own  chosen  policy  without  delay. 
He  apparently  had  already  held  the  supreme  power'-^  during 
his  father's  exile,  and  was  a  devoted  adherent  of  the  foreicfn 
worship  and  its  cruel  rites.  Most  probably  for  this  reason 
the  new  king  was  intensely  un[)opular.  The  brief  inter- 
lude of  righteousness  and  morality  under  the  repentant 
Manasseh  was  perhaps  more  to  the  liking  even  of  the  men 
of  the  court.  A  conspiracy  was  formed  by  which  Anion's 
life  came  to  a  sudden  and  violent  end  in  his  own  palace. 
However  we  may  demur  to  the  metliod  of  assassination,  it 
must  be  allowed  tliat  the  continuance  of  the  present  [)olicy 
would  have  been  destructive  of  the  state.  And  yet  the 
act  itself  was  not  popular.  The  feeling  of  loyalty  to  the 
king  in  Judah  was  so  strong  (§  277  f.)  that  "the  people 
of  the  land,"  that  is,  the  freemen  in  general,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  court  party,  put  the  conspirators  to 
death.  They  then  set  upon  the  throne  Josiah,  son  of 
Anion,  being  little  more  than  an  infant  (2  K.  xxi.  28  ff.). 

§  807.  That  the  prophetic  and  reforming  party  had  at 
last  gained  the  upper  hand  in  the  state  is  proved  l)y  the 
character  of  the  youthful  Josiah  (639-608  B.C.).     During 

1  Probably  a  few  years  older  than  twenty-two  (1  K.  xxi.  19),  for  in 
this  case  he  would  only  have  been  lifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age  at  the 
birth  of  Josiah  (cf.  1  K.  xxii.  1). 

-  There  must  have  been  some  "  king  "  in  Jerusalem  during  the  absence 
of  Manasseh,  however  brief  that  period  was,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
the  Assyrian  rulers  invariably  appointed  a  substitute  for  a  dethroned 
monarch  in  a  rebellious  state.  Now  tiiere  is  no  word  of  any  other  king 
than  Anion  in  Judah  at  this  period.  This  forms  an  additional  argument 
in  favour  of  his  having  been  over  twenty-two  at  his  accession. 


n\  \ 


'I 


800 


JOSIAII  THE    HKFOIJMEII 


Book  VIII 


the  ten  years  of  his  niiiioiity  lie  was  preserved  from  the 
vices  and  idohitrous  habits  which  wouhl  inevitably  liavi' 
ruined  an}-  hid  not  hedged  in  by  better  influences.  The 
outlook  for  religion  and  morality,  always  the  main  issues 
in  Israel,  now  became  ])righter.  Hence  when  Josiah  was 
ready  to  undertake  the  most  extensive  and  far-reaching  ref- 
ormation known  in  the  history  of  his  people,  he  found  about 
him  both  civil  and  spiritual  oflicers  eager  to  promote  his 
designs.  It  would  be  putting  it  more  fairly,  perhaps,  to 
say  that  the  good  work  was  prepared  by  them  and  per- 
formed at  their  instigation.  Indeed,  the  great  prophet 
Jeremiah  had  been  called  to  the  ministry  five  years  before 
the  work  was  formally  begun  (cf.  2  K.  xxii.  3  with  Jer.  i. 
2).  We  must,  however,  leave  for  a  time  these  mixed  con- 
ditions so  fraught  with  fateful  issues  for  Judah  and  Jeru- 
salem, and  take  a  hurried  survey  of  the  closing  scenes  in 
the  history  of  Assyria. 


!'  I 


H.M)K  VIH 


CHAPTER   X 


4 


DOWNFALL   OF   THE  ASSYRIAN   EMPIRE 

§  808.  The  events  hitherto  recorded  have  brouglit  the 
story  of  Assyria  down  to  about  G44  n.c.  At  this  date 
King  Asshurbanipal  had  completed  more  than  one-half  of 
his  long  reign.  The  years  thus  traversed  had  been  spent 
in  almost  continuous  war,  and  at  the  close  of  the  record 
Assyria  was  still  standing  in  her  strength  and  pride.  True, 
Egypt  was  lost  beyond  hope  of  recovery.  But,  as  a  com- 
pensation for  its  loss,  the  feebler  successor  of  its  conqueror 
doubtless  congratulated  himself  that  the  whole  of  tlic 
West-land  and  of  Arabia  was  now  held  secure  against 
Egypt.  Moreover,  the  northern,  northwestern,  and  north- 
eastern regions,  so  long  coveted  by  the  Assyrian  kings, 
were  also  lost  forever.  If  conquests  in  Cappadocia  or 
Armenia,  among  the  Mannteans  or  the  non-Ar3'an  Medians 
had  still  been  possible,  they  would  have  soon  to  be  sur- 
rendered to  the  new  claimants  from  the  farther  north 
(§  758,  773  ff.).  With  all  of  these  aggressive  warfare  was 
at  an  end.  But  was  extension  or  further  conquest  desir- 
able ?  Had  not  the  empire  of  the  Tigris  at  last  realizx'd 
the  true  measure  of  its  strength?  From  the  ^Mediterranean 
to  the  mountains  of  INIedia,  from  iNIount  Taurus  to  tlie 
heart  of  Arabia,  from  Kurdistan  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  the 
lordship  of  Asshur  was  still  secure.  These  were  the  natu- 
ral limits  of  such  an  empire,  the  proper  Semitic  realm 
(§  17).  Assyria  had  learned  at  last  that  her  dominion 
must  be  determined  by  the  possibility  of  undistprbed  ad- 
ministration.     And  within  these  boundaries  the  organiza- 

391 


i    ! 


t  : 


!' 


ti 


392 


LIMITS   AND   WEAKNESS  OF  THE   EMPIRE     Book  VIII 


tion  of  provinces  and  subject  states  was  alike  perfect. 
The  only  exception  was  northern  Arabia.  But  its  people 
had  been  disciplined  by  many  defeats,  and  were  over- 
awed by  the  numerous  watchful  border  garrisons.  Else- 
where chances  of  serious  trouble  seemed  sliglit.  The  most 
valuable,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  uncertain,  part 
of  the  empire  was  Babylonia.  But  here  the  Chaldreaus 
and  I-^lamites  had  l)een  taught  by  sword  and  flame  and 
banishment  that  even  among  them  Asshur  was  to  reign 
supreme.  Surely  at  last  an  Assyrian  king  might  rest  from 
strife  and  enjoy  the  fruits  of  long  centuries  of  effort  and 
of  assiduous  prayer  to  the  great  gods  of  Nineveh  I 

§  809.  But  the  strongest  cohesive  force  in  the  empire 
was  still  phj-sical  compulsion.  Everywhere  the  generals 
and  governors  and  officers  of  the  revenue  confronted  a 
disarmed  and  yet  hostile  population.  The  great  combina- 
tion of  communities  was,  strictly  speaking,  not  an  organ- 
ism. It  resembled  one  of  those  structures  which  are  made 
up  of  pieces  kept  together  by  a  keystone,  whose  natural 
tendency  is  to  separate  rather  than  unite,  and  whose  func- 
tion is  to  keep  the  parts  in  place  and  prevent  disturl)ance 
by  unrelaxing  pressure  exerted  equally  upon  them  all. 
A  movement  of  any  one  of  the  elements  brings  the  un- 
cemented  pile  to  ruin.  The  Assyrian  empire  could  still 
survive  the  impact  of  border  incursions,  or  tlie  tremor  of 
local  uprisings.  But  let  numerous  enemies  pass  over  the 
land,  and  no  force  as  yet  generated  by  the  political  agencies 
of  the  ancient  world  could  save  the  structure  from  demo- 
lition. A  crreat  disinteofratinof  factor  —  one  of  the  most 
iniluential  in  all  Oriental  history  —  was  brought  into  play 
by  the  famous  invasions  of  the  Scythians. 

§  810.  The  annals  of  Asshurbanipal  do  not  go  beyond 
about  642  B.C.,  and  our  best  authority  for  the  Scythians 
and  their  invasions  is  still  Herodotus,  who  gives  us  a 
graphic  picture  of  their  mode  of  migration,  their  appear- 
ance and  habits,  and  the  extent  of  their  depredations. 
There    is  much  in  his   description  to  remind   us  of   the 


Book  VITT 


!  perfect, 
its  people 
ere  over- 
is.  Else- 
The  most 
tain,  pai't 
lialda3an;s 
lame  and 
to  reign 
rest  from 
effort  and 

le  empire 
generals 
:ronted  a 
combina- 
m  organ- 
are  made 
B  natural 
ose  func- 
tui-hance 
hem  all. 
the  un- 
uld  still 
emor  of 
over  the 
aofencies 
n  demo- 
he  most 
ito  play 

beyond 
ivthians 

}s  us  a 
1  appear- 
Idations. 

of   the 


Cii.  X,  §  810 


THE   SCYTHIANS 


303 


Tatars  and  their  repeated  inroads  into  the  oivili/.tMl 
regions  of  the  south  and  Avest,  especially  of  the  later 
more  abiding  conquests  of  Huns,  Mongols,  and  Turks. 
They  are  represented,  no  doubt  with  some  exaggeration, 
as  a  people  coarse  and  gross  in  their  habits,  with  stout 
fleshy  bodies,  loose  joints,  and  scanty  hair.  They  never 
washed  themselves  ;  their  nearest  approach  to  ablution 
was  a  vapour-bath.  The}'  lived  either  in  wagons  or  in 
tents  of  felt  of  a  simple  and  rude  construction,  and  sul)- 
sisted  on  mares'  milk  and  cheese,  to  which  the  boiled  flesh 
of  horses  and  cattle  was  added  occasionally  as  a  rare  deli- 
cacy. In  war  their  customs  were  very  barljarous.  Tiie 
Scythian,  who  slew  his  enemy  in  wrath,  innnediately  pro- 
ceeded to  drink  his  blood.  lie  then  cut  off  his  head,  after 
which  he  stripped  the  scalp  from  the  skull,  and  hung  it 
on  his  bridle-reiu  as  a  trophy.  The  upper  portion  of  the 
skull  he  commonly  made  into  a  drinking-cup.  The  greater 
part  of  each  day  he  spent  on  horseback,  in  attendance  on 
the  huge  herds  of  cattle  which  he  pastured.  His  favour- 
ite w  apon  was  the  bow,  which  he  used  as  he  rode,  shoot- 
ing his  arrows  with  great  precision.  He  generally  carried, 
l)esid<-.-'-  his  bow  and  arrows,  a  short  spear  or  javelin,  and 
sometimes  bore  also  a  short  sword  or  l)attle-axe.  The 
nation  of  the  Scythians  comprised  within  it  a  number 
of  distinct  tribes.  At  the  head  of  all  was  a  royal  tribe 
corresponding  to  the  "Golden  Horde"  of  the  Mongols, 
M'hich  was  l)raver  and  moi-e  numerous  than  anj'  other, 
and  regarded  all  the  remaininij  tribes  as  slaves.  To  this 
belonged  the  families  of  the  kings,  who  ruled  by  heredi- 
tary right,  and  who  seem  to  have  exercised  a  ver}'  con- 
sideral)le  authority.  Wo  often  heai'  of  several  kings  as 
bearing  rule  at  the  same  time ;  but  there  is  generally 
some  indication  of  dispai'ity,  from  which  we  gather  that, 
in  times  of  danger  at  any  rate,  the  supreme  power  was 
always  really  lodged  in  the  hands  of  a  single  man.^ 

1  The  above  description  I  liave  taken,  with  slijiht  ahrid.irnient,  from  G. 
Eawlinson,  The  Fivo  (iront  .Vo)/''/v///(.<  (1881),  vol,  ii,  p.  22;]  f.,  whose  sum- 


I    !| 


I  ! 


f 


I? 


I 


i 


M 


U 


1:1 


I 


394 


CHARACTER  OF  THE   INVASIONS 


Book  VIII 


§  811.  The  details  of  the  invasion  that  have  thus  come 
down  to  us  must  be  treated  with  some  ^liscrimination. 
The  exact  date  of  the  incursions  is  in  any  case  unceitain. 
Herodotus  gives  twenty-eight  years  as  the  duration  of 
their  visit.  But  this  is  manifestly  impossible.  So  long  a 
stay  would  amount  to  a  settlement  on  the  part  of  at  least 
large  sections  of  the  confederation,  and  would  have  left 
permanent  traces  in  types  of  population  and  manners.  It 
may  be,  however,  that  the  informants  of  Herodotus  counted 
backwards  in  their  rough  fashion,  from  the  capture  of  Nine- 
veh, 607  B.C.  This  would  make  the  earliest  inroads  to 
have  occurred  in  635,  a  date  which  suits  all  the  condi- 
tions as  far  as  we  know  them.  At  that  time  there  were 
still  nine  years  left  of  the  reign  of  Asshurbanipal,  and  it 
is  likely  that  the  most  formidable  of  the  Scythian  inva- 
sions took  place  during  the  maintenance  of  military  order 
under  that  king.  If  the  most  serious  inroads  had  occurred 
during  the  brief  reigns  of  his  two  feeble  successors,  they 
would  have  had  a  material  share  in  the  ruin  of  the  empire. 
As  we  know,  however,  it  was  by  neither  Kimmerians  nor 
Scythians  that  the  Assyrian  dominion  received  its  final 
death-blow.  Two  further  traditional  exaggerations  must 
be  corrected.  These  people  could  not  have  come  all  in 
one  swarm ;  nor  did  they  cover  the  whole  face  of  the 
Ass3'rian  empire  at  once.  They  arrived  in  successive 
migrations ;  they  made  gradual  advances,  and  that  by 
definite  routes. 

§  812.  Indeed,  the  Assyrian  empire  proper,  as  above 
outlined  (§  808),  could  not  possibly  be  the  chief  sufferer. 
Coming,  as  these  Scythians  did,  iuto  southwestern  Asia 
from  over  the  Caucasus,  they  had  first  to  encounter  the 
Aryan  Medes,  now  already  organized  into  a  [)0werfnl 
kingdom  (§  822).  With  them,  indeed,  as  it  would  appear, 
their  most  prolonged  struggle  was  maintained,  and  appar- 

mary  of  the  iufonnation  given  by  the  Greek  writers  has  in  a  sense 
become  chissical.  Furtlier  notices  are  given  in  tlie  continuation  of  the 
above  extract,  along  willi  full  references  to  tlie  literature. 


:i^' 


Cii.  X,  §  813         THEIR   DEVASTATIONS   LOCAL 


395 


ently  the  Medians  came  off  well  from  the  conflict.  Then 
they  wonld  have  to  meet  the  hardy  warriors  of  Armenia, 
and,  in  their  westward  course,  those  of  Cappadocia,  to 
whose  population  the  Kimmerian  accessions  lent  a  vigor- 
ous element.  They  avoided  the  desert  ways.  But  as  they 
traversed  the  rich  plains  of  Mesopotamia,  and  marched 
against  the  strong  fortresses  of  Syria,  they  had  to  encoun- 
ter not  merely  the  Assyrian  garrisons,  but  also  many  a 
troop  of  Arabs,  who  could  match  the  invaders  with  their 
own  weapons,  and  inflict  endless  damage  by  hanging  per- 
petually upon  their  rear.  As  to  the  fortunes  of  the  south- 
west under  this  visitation,  we  have  good  i-eason  to  believe 
that  Palestine  was  little  harassed,  if  at  all.'  It  is  related 
that  Psammetichus,  the  prince  of  the  Delta  who  had  re- 
stored the  independence  of  Egypt  (^5  768),  being  warned 
of  their  approach  when  they  had  got  as  far  as  Askalon, 
bought  them  off  from  invading  Egypt  by  valuable  gifts.^ 
If  Palestine  suffered  to  any  great  extent,  it  must  have  been 
in  the  territory  east  of  the  Jordan,  which  might  furnish 
congenial  pasture  ground  to  these  rangers  of  the  steppes. 
They  were  scarcely  very  formidable  in  numbers  by  the  time 
they  reached  the  south  of  the  Philistian  plain.  We  may 
safely  take  it  for  granted  that  the  terror  which  they  in- 
spired was  their  most  serious  infliction  upon  the  peojile  of 
Judah.  The  visitation  was  made  during  the  minority  of 
Josiah  (§  807),  when  the  military  spirit  was  at  its  lowest. 
If  an  assault  had  really  been  made  upon  the  cities  of  Judah, 
little  would  have  survived.  And  the  calamitv,  which  would 
have  been  worse  than  the  evils  wrought  by  Sinacherib,  would 
have  found  some  historical  notice  in  the  Hebrew  literature. 
§  813.  Hence  we  cannot  agree  with  those  who  tliink 
that  the  Scythians  are  the  northern  invaders  described  in 

1  The  name  Scythonolis,  tjiveii  in  later  times  to  Reth-shean  in  Manas- 
seh  west  of  .Fonlan  ( Beimn),  may  possibly  contain  a  reminiscence  of  this 
visitation,  but  we  must  be  cautious  about  making  a  broad  induction  upon 
so  narrow  a  foundation. 

-  Herodotus,  i,  lOo  ;  cf.  ii,  157. 


f 


I.  I 


896 


SUPPOSED  ALLUSIONS   BY  JEREMIAH     Book  VIII 


iv 


!■ 


[■:.! 


Jer.  iv.-vi.  Nor  can  we  adopt  the  hypothesis  that  Jere- 
miah, one  of  the  most  practical  of  prophets,  was  here 
merely  reproducing  the  details  of  the  Scythian  scourge, 
after  the  event,  for  the  purpose  of  intimidating  the  faithless 
people  of  Jehovah.  Jeremiah  did  not  begin  his  prophetic 
work  till  626  B.C.  (eh.  xxv.  3 ;  cf.  i.  2),  the  year  of 
the  death  of  Asshurbanipal,  when  the  northern  marauders 
had  withdrawn  from  the  Assyrian  empire  proper.  Hence 
there  can  be  no  allusion  to  the  Scythians  directly.  It  is 
true  that  certain  expressions  (see  ch.  v.  17 ;  vi.  22  f.) 
seem  to  point  to  them  rather  than  to  the  other  foe,  the  Chal- 
cliL'ans,  who  afterwards  also  came  b}^  the  way  of  the  north. 
The  key  to  the  whole  difficulty  is  found  in  ch.  i.  15, 
where  it  is  said,  "  Lo,  I  will  call  all  the  families  of  the 
kingdoms  of  the  north,  saith  Jehovah,  and  they  shall  come 
and  shall  set  each  one  his  seat  at  the  entrance  of  the  gates 
of  Jerusalem,  and  beside  all  her  walls  round  about,  and 
beside  all  the  cities  of  Judah."  The  present  prophecy, 
presumably  the  earliest  of  Jeremiah's  comjjositions,  is 
general  in  character,  and  does  not  refer  to  any  one  specific 
invasion.  It  was  really  fulfilled  in  the  assaults  and  devas- 
tations of  the  Chaldii'ans  (cf.  ch.  v.  15).  Now  as  to  the 
language  employed,  we  need  to  keep  three  things  in  mind. 
We  must  remember  that  the  "  Chakhean  "  army  was  by  no 
means  composed  of  Babylonians  alone.  Like  the  Assyrian 
hosts,  of  which  it  was  the  direct  successor,  it  was  made  up 
of  detachments  from  the  various  subject  states.  And  as  the 
former  were  called  by  their  leaders  "  soldiers  of  Asshur  " 
(§  697,  note),  so  an  equally  comprehensive  appellation 
must  have  been  employed  everywhere  for  the  army  of 
Nebuchadrezzar.  The  references  to  enemies  that  came 
armed  with  bow  and  spear  and  rode  upon  horses  (ch. 
vi.  23)  might  apply  to  many  a  detachment  in  the  Chal- 
da^an  army  not  of  Scythian  origin.  Again,  it  may  be 
assumed  that  in  consequence  of  the  recent  destructive 
march  of  the  Scythians  over  the  fairest  portions  of  West- 
ern Asia,  the  language  of  the  prophet  would  naturally  be 


?11 


Cir,  X,  §  815         BY   EZKKIEL   AND   ZEl'HANIAH 


sm 


coloured  by  that  notable  infliction.  In  like  manner  tlie 
"north"  and  the  '•  utter,  .ost  |)art!5  of  the  eurth "'  (ch. 
vi.  22)  are  expressions  which,  while  somewhat  vague,  are 
yet  natural  in  the  mouth  of  a  Hebrew  observer  of  the  time, 
since  the  region  in  question  had  come  to  l)e  the  source  of 
periodic  invasions  threatening  ruin  and  destruction  to  the 
whole  of  the  southern  lands.  Finally,  tliere  may  very 
well  have  been  companies  of  Scythians  settled  here  and 
there  within  the  Assj-rian  empire  at  the  date  of  this 
prophecy,  wliom  Jeremiah  looked  upon  as  eligible  soldiery 
for  the  next  great  invasion,  whoever  might  be  the  leaders. 

§  814.  The  case  is  quite  different  with  Ezekiel  xxxviii. 
Ezekiel  was  an  idealist,  who  in  some  of  his  discourses  made 
little  note  of  the  order  of  time  or  of  external  causal  rela- 
tion. The  suggestions  and  the  terminology  are  here  drawn 
from  the  inroads  of  northern  barbarians,  the  last  of  which, 
the  great  Scytliian  invasion,  was  perha}is  one  of  tlie  vivid 
reminiscences  of  the  prophet's  youth.  In  these  references, 
however,  Gomer,  Togarmah,  Gog  and  ]Magog,  are  merely 
symbols  of  the  nations  that  were  to  assemble  for  the  over- 
throw of  Israel,  to  be  themselves  discomfited  bv  the  inter- 
vention  of  Jehovah.  They  furnish  in  fact  the  psychological 
l)asis  of  much  of  the  apocalyptic  literature  of  both  the  ( )ld 
and  the  New  Testament  (cf.  Rev.  xx.  7  ff.).  Of  Zepha- 
niah,  an  early  contemporary  of  Jeremiah,  w^e  can  only  say 
wdiat  has  been  said  already  of  his  great  colleague.  His 
brief  prophecy  has  for  its  motive  the  doom  of  impenitent 
Jerusalem,  the  lesson  being  enforced  from  the  fate  of  the 
nations  (ch.  ii.),  Philistia,  Moab,  Egypt,  and  Ethio})ia, 
and  finally  Assj'ria  and  Nineveh.  With  him  also  the  rec- 
ollections of  the  Scythian  invasion  have  lent  a  touch  of 
colour  to  the  picture,  though  the  expressions  used  are  mure 
general  than  those  employed  by  Jeremiah. 

§  815.  The  Scythians  doubtless  invaded  the  territory 
of  Assyria  proper;  but  it  is  dilficult  to  believe  tliat  they 
there  inflicted  any  very  serious  loss.     Enfeebled  as  the  em- 

lencies  and  colonies,  in 


t  i 

I 


'  1 1 


pn'( 


Tigi 


depi 


!   ;* 


398 


THE   SCYTHIANS   AND   NINf:Vi:H 


Book  VIII 


it  .  1:  I 


".' ) ' 


w 


the  closing  years  of  Asshurbanipal,  it  was  still  strong  in 
and  around  Nineveh.  The  disciplined  veterans  of  the 
Babylonian  and  Arabian  wars  were  not  to  be  turned  aside 
b}'  these  outlandish  barbarians  far  from  their  homes  and 
their  patron  gods.  We  may  therefore  assume  that  not  only 
did  Nineveh  escape  a  siege,  but  that  the  savages  were  kepj 
at  a  safe  distance  from  the  capital.  Nor  must  Ave  ascribe 
to  the  Scythian  invasion  entirel}',  or  even  chiefly,  the  swift 
decline  of  the  great  empire'  of  the  Sargonides  (§  809). 
That  they  accelerated  its  disintegration  is  evident ;  and  a 
reconquest  of  the  many  regions,  which  ipso  facto  were 
liberated  through  their  transient  interference,  was  virtu- 
ally impossible  even  after  they  had  disappeared  as  an 
organized  aggressive  force,  through  their  absorption,  dis- 
persion, disease,  death  on  the  battle-field,  or  voluntary 
return  to  the  steppes  of  the  north. 

§  816.  It  was  thus  as  ruler  of  a  dissolving  empire  that 
Asshurbanipal  spent  liis  closing  years,  his  pride  rebuked, 
his  power  curtailed,  his  gods  averting  their  faces.  One 
solace  remained  to  him  to  the  end.  His  disthictive  pas- 
sion was  for  literatui'e  and  art ;  and  it  is  for  the  encour- 
agement afforded  to  both  that  he  deserves  an  eminent 
place  among  the  rulers  of  the  Orient.  His  character  is 
more  interesting  to  the  historical  student  than  that  of  any 
other  of  the  Assyrian  kings,  for  the  reason  that  it  was  so 
fully  a  product  not  only  of  his  nation,  but  of  his  memora- 
ble times.  The  preceding  monarchs  of  his  country  had 
been  strenuous  statesmen  and  warriors,  because  the  main- 
tenance of  the  glorj'  of  Asshur  depended  on  a  strong, 
directing  mind.  Esarhaddon  had  at  length  placed  the 
crown  upon  all  their  highest  ambitions,  and  when  his  son 
came  to  the  throne,  he  fondl}'  trusted  that  the  empire, 
now  so  well  organized,  might  dispense  with  the  active 
intei'vention  of  its  head.  Hence,  to  a  large  degree,  came 
the  personal  inactivity  of  Asshurbanipal  in  military  affairs. 
Another  occasion  thereof  was  scarcely  less  potent.  The 
personal  sympathies  and  early  associations  of  his  father 


\»i 


Ch.  X,  §817     ASSHURBAXIPAL  AXI»  LITERATURE 


399 


had  brought  him  into  syiujjuathetic  relation  with  Baby- 
lonia. It  may  indeed  be  said  tlitat  since  the  time  of  the 
great  Tiglath-pileser,  Assyria  had  B>een  coming  to  under- 
stand the  Babylonian  life  and  elhiairacter.  But  the  effect 
of  this  closer  contact  was  coasptcino'asly  seen  in  the  edu- 
cation of  Asshurbanipal,  on  Ts-hkh  lie  lays  such  stress  in 
his  own  inscriptions.^  It  was  ateu  also  in  the  impetus 
which  was  given  to  literary  pursniiu  in  the  Assyrian  cap- 
ital. Of  this  brief  but  brilliant  ine-ma'^ence  Asshurbanipal 
was  himself  the  chief  official  I'epiris^je'ntative. 

Jj  817.  But  the  literary  activin-  f>i  his  scribes  and  sec- 
retaries,  which  under  an  Ori-enital  despotism  was  neces- 
sarily impersonal,  was  somethimg-  (fjriite  phenomenal  in  its 
extent  and  choice  of  subjects-  We  must  suppose  that  the 
fashionable  patronage  of  Babyloniani  learning  so  favoured 
by  Esarhaddon  led  to  the  eraploynanenitt  of  many  Babylonian 
teachers,  at  least  among  the  iie-onnlie-  of  the  court  and  the 
wealthy  magnates.  Cultui-e  wa*  not  confined  to  the 
priestly  class.  The  aotronomieal  and  astrological  know- 
ledge, which  was  at  once  tlje  bmsiinie^s  and  the  ornament 
of  their  profession,  is  supplemeui-e*!  in  the  literary  monu- 
ments of  the  age  by  geographieaL  botanical,  and  zo(")logical 
learning,  which  would  naturaMj  he  acquired  by  mili- 
tary and  diplomatic  attaches,  C'ominniereial  agents,  or  pri- 
vate travellers.  Of  this  and  a  mamfold  culture  besides, 
Asshurbanipal  was  a  munificent  and  apparently  an  intel- 
ligent patron.  Even  the  official  annals,  supervised  and 
inspired  by  himself,  in  spit€  of  tlieir  general  adaptation 
to  the  monotonous  prescriptive  form  of  such  documents, 
reveal  in  their  ornate  and  polisL'e«l  stylie  and  wealth  of  dic- 
tion the  impress  of  a  wide  inx<itlle*;iwil  movement.  These 
records,  however,  present  their  Liemr*  as  the  would-be  rival 
of  his  great  predecessors  in  the  ait#  of  war  and  government 
—  a  r81e  in  which  he  appears  to  fl-ignr^a!  disadvantage.  But 
the  multitudinous  tablets  which  bear  his  signature,  found 
in  the  ruins  of  his  great  palace  in  Kuvunjik.  form  of  them- 

1  V  R.  1.  Si  ffl- 


m^^ 


400 


DEPENDENCi:    ON    RAHVLONIA 


Hook  VIII 


selves  a  library  of  varied  content  which  is  unique  in  the 
history  of  the  human  mind.  The  majority  of  tliem,  or  at 
least  of  the  originals,  were  obtained  from  Babylon.  Hence 
it  is  to  them  rather  than  to  monuments  found  in  their 
proper  home,  that  we  owe  our  knowledge  of  the  ancient 
Babylonians  as  a  people,  their  manners  and  customs, 
their  language  and  religion,  and  their  varied  intellectual 
treasures. 

§  818.  But  the  form  and  mode  of  this  very  intel- 
lectual relationship  with  Babylonia  l)etrays,  after  all,  the 
inherent  inefficiency  of  the  Assyrian  civilization  and  polit- 
ical system.  These  productions  of  the  ancient  Babylonian 
genius,  which  were  literally  appropriated  and  reproduced 
by  the  thousand,  were  regarded  and  si)oken  of  as  the 
spoil  of  the  Assyrian  king.  It  was  thought  that  the  mere 
acquisition  and  study  of  these  monuments  of  reflection 
and  research  would  confer  upon  the  Xinevites  all  the 
prestige  and  moral  advantage  of  the  Babylonian  culture. 
The  process  of  appropriation  was  in  fact  an  essential  part 
of  the  enterprise  of  transferring  the  centre  of  Semitic 
influence  from  tlie  banks  of  the  Euphrates  to  those  of 
the  Tigris.  Necessarily  it  failed.  The  basis  of  the  Assyr- 
ian civilization  was  essentially  force,  as  its  most  honoured 
gods,  Adar,  Nergal,  and  Nusku,  were  personifications  of 
terror,  war,  and  desolation.  Xebo,  the  wise  revealer 
of  the  will  of  the  gods,  and  Merodach,  their  healing  and 
comforting  agent  among  men,  were  the  patron  deities  of 
Babylon.  It  was  in  vain  that  Asshurbanipal  officially 
proclaimed  himself  to  be  endowed  with  the  intelligence 
and  wisdom  of  Nebo,  whose  political  tutelage  he  dis- 
owned. Nebo  still  ruled  in  Babylon,  and  had  no  mind 
to  dwell  among  the  intellectual  and  moral  aliens  of  the 
kingdom  of  the  Tigris.  Only  in  sculpture,  architecture, 
and  the  mechanic  arts  did  the  Assyrians  surpass  their 
teachers.  Yet  even  in  these  their  lack  of  originality  is 
as  apparent  as  in  the  realms  of  literature  and  science. 
Nor  can  it  be  truly  said  that  time  and  opportunity  for  the 


■^ 


1 


Ch.  X,  §810     PERSONAL   WEAKNESS   OF  THE    KINO  401 

higher  mental  attainments  were  lacking  to  Assyria.  The 
era  of  EsarhacUlon  and  Asshurbanipal,  following  upon 
that  of  Sargon.  was  eminently  favourable  for  all  forms 
of  liigher  culture.  It  is,  therefore,  with  a  feeling  of  very 
qualified  admiration  that  we  contemplate  the  varied  monu- 
ments of  Assyria's  one  great  epoch  of  intellectual  achieve- 
ment. 

§  819.  While  we  have  learned  to  reject  the  classical 
traditions  with  regard  to  "Sardanapalus,"  we  have  also 
found  it  necessary  to  abate  something  of  the  admiration 
with  which  he  is  regarded  by  modern  writers  on  Oriental 
history.  It  is  not  easy  to  discover  any  broad  princi[)le  of 
statesmanship  in  his  conduct  of  imperial  affairs.  His  pol- 
icy in  the  western  lands  was  fairly  successful,  because  he 
followed  in  the  main  the  path  struck  out  by  his  father. 
Yet  otherwise  he  made  no  advance,  except  by  the  use 
of  barbaric  methods  which  recoiled  upon  the  agent.  The 
most  important  and  delicate  matter  of  all  was  the  Baby- 
lonian question.  This  had  been  admirably  adjusted  l)y 
Esarhaddon,  and  it  might  have  been  possible  to  continue 
liis  conciliatorv  attitude.  The  cardinal  defect  of  the 
administration  was  the  selfish  isolation  of  the  king.  Esar- 
haddon's  influence  had  been  won  by  his  personal  visita- 
tions and  residence  among  his  subjects.  His  son  remained 
at  home  absorbed  in  his  pleasures  and  learned  pursuits. 
He  knew  how  to  deal  with  his  many  enemies  and  revolted 
vassals  only  in  a  petulant,  inconsistent  fashion,  which  was 
marked  by  the  extremes  of  malicious  cruelt}''  and  whim.si- 
cal  indulgence.  There  is  apparently  some  ground  for  the 
reputation  of  effeminacy  which  he  bore  in  the  legends 
preserved  by  Ctesias.  The  contrary  has  been  argued  from 
his  prowess  as  a  hunter,  commemorated  in  many  a  palace- 
wall  relief.  These,  however,  are  probably  only  the  exag- 
gerated efforts  of  official  flatterers.  The  character  of  a 
mighty  hunter  was  essential  to  every  king  of  Assyria,  as 
the  annual  battue  is  a  mark  of  the  type  of  royalty  proper 
to  modern  continental  Europe.     The  alleged  fact  that  he 

2d 


I 


I.:  fi 


II 


1 . 


402 


THE    LAST  TWO    KINGS   OF    ASSYRIA       Hook  VI 11 


reigned  for  over  forty  years  without  domestic  insurrectipn  ^ 
is  a  more  plausible  evidence  of  kingly  character.  But  we 
do  not  know  the  details  of  his  later  life,  except  that  at  his 
death  the  empire  was  being  disrupted  and  dwindling  away 
to  the  shadow  of  its  ancient  form  and  substance. 

§  820.  This  sudden  decline  was  the  beginning  of  the 
swiftly  apjiroaching  end.  A  strange  mantle  of  obscurity 
continues  to  envelope  the  history  of  the  few  memorable 
yeais  which  were  still  allotted  to  the  kingdom  of  Nineveh. 
The  son  of  Asshurbanipal  who  followed  him  upon  the 
throne  was  called  Amshur-etil-ihlni-u/ciuni  ("Asshur,  the 
lord  of  the  gods,  has  established  me").  For  the  sake 
of  convenience,  the  last  element  of  his  name  was  usually 
dropped.  Of  his  deeds  we  only  know  that  he  rebuilt  the 
temple  of  Nebo  in  Kalach.  The  inscription  ^  recording 
the  fact  was  found  in  the  ruins  of  the  southeast  palace  in 
Nimrud  ( Kalach),  of  which  he  was  thus  apparently'  tlie 
builder.  This  revival  of  the  cultivation  of  the  patron  god 
of  Baliylonia  was  perhaps  signiticant  of  better  relations 
with  the  latter  country  than  had  marked  the  first  halt' 
of  his  father's  rule.  We  do  not  know  how  long  his  reign 
extended  beyond  his  fourth  year,  which  is  the  date  of  a 
tablet  found  at  Nippur  by  the  American  explorers.  His 
successor  was  named  Sin-sar-iskiot^  ("Sin  has  installed 
the  king*'),  under  whose  brief  and  dubious  sovereignty 
Nineveh  and  Assyria  met  their  predestined  doom. 

§  821.  It  is  as  yet,  and  perhaps  Avill  always  remain, 
impossible  to  reconstruct  the  history  of  the  closing  years 
of  the  Assyrian  kingdom.  We  must  therefore  content 
ourselves  with  a  general  sketch  of  the  national  and  racial 
movements  by  which  its  overthrow  was  so  largely  condi- 

1  Teile,  GAB.  p.  405. 
•  2  Published  in  I  R.  8,  nr.  3 ;  cf.  KB.  II,  268  f.,  and  III  R.  16,  2.     For 
the  temple  of  Nebo,  see  vol.  i,  p.  411  f.    Did  the  story  of  Semiramis  now 
become  popularized  ? 

8  llie  Sarakos  of  the  Greeks,  whose  story  has  been  merged  in  that  of 
Asshurbanipal  in  the  legend  of  "  Sardanapalus. " 


■■ 


m 


,#^' 


n^ 


nooK  VIII 


Cm.  X,  §  822      DEPEXDENT  STATES   AND  BABYLONIA 


403 


tioued.  The  disintegirttiiig  work  of  the  Kinmierians  and 
Scythians  had  been  done  before  the  time  of  the  end  (§  773, 
810  ff.).  No  important  inroads  into  the  empire  pro[)er  by 
the  latter  and  more  formidable  invaders  can  have  been 
made  after  620  B.C.,  though  the  northern  regions  were 
doubtless  still  visited  by  them  from  time  to  time.  Nor 
do  we  hear  of  any  uprisings  in  Syria  or  Palestine.  If  tlie 
western  communities  had  combined,  even  a  nominal  alle- 
giance to  their  old  oppressor  might  now  have  been  safely 
abjured.  But  by  this  time  most  of  them  had  become  politi- 
cally supine  and  indifferent,  partly  through  the  long  As- 
syrian administration  (§  808)  and  also  to  some  extent 
from  the  effects  of  the  Scythian  scourge.  They  were, 
taken  as  a  whole,  now  prepared  to  yield  their  liomage 
to  the  strongest  representative  of  tlie  Assyrio-Babylonian 
idea  of  eastern  predominance,  as  in  fact  they  did  ere  long 
submit  to  the  accredited  ChakUean  successor  of  the  Niuo- 
vite  over-lord.  Many  of  them,  however,  had  doubtless 
quietly  or  formally  renounced  their  dependence.  The 
Pluenician  city-states  were  certainly  now  rejoicing  in 
unaccustomed  exemption  from  tribute.  In  Judah  the 
scrupulous  fidelity  of  Josiah  would  have  kept  him,  in 
any  case,  true  to  his  oath  of  allegiance.  Northern  Syria 
and  ^Mesopotamia  had  long  been  without  political  life  and 
movement  apart  from  their  Assyrian  governors. 

§  822.  Thus,  if  the  growing  weakness  of  Assyria  were 
to  become  the  occasion  for  her  violent-  overthrow,  the 
impulse  must  come  from  the  seat  of  ancient  Semitic 
supremacy,  the  oft-subdued  but  still  intellectually  and 
morally  superior  Babylonia,  —  not,  however,  directly  from 
the  ancient  realm  of  Shumer  and  Akkad,  but  from  the  sea- 
land,  the  home  of  the  virile  and  indomitable  Clialdccans. 
The  story  of  this  extraordinary  people  has  been  told  with 
sufficient  fulness,  and  the  reader  will  not  be  surprised  to 
learn  that  they  were  equal  to  even  larger  occasions  than 
those  which  marked  tlie  patriotic  endeavours  of  Merodach- 
baladan  and  his  heroic  race.     From  unmistakable  signs  we 


'  i; 


l«l 


i  i 


\ 


'.  :i 


m 


10 


I 


404 


THE   CIIALD.KANS  AND  MEDES 


H i  VIII 


gather  tliat  during  the  hist  quarter  of  a  century  <>f  the 
Ninevite  rule  a  better  unclerstanding  had  been  arrived  at 
with  the  ChaUheans.  Perhaps  it  was  the  eonsciousness 
of  growing  decrepitude  which  brought  the  successor  of 
Asshurbanipal  to  perceive  that  it  was  after  all  best  to 
grant  a  measure  of  self-government  to  all  Babylonia  (cf. 
§  825).  At  any  rate,  we  tind  that,  on  the  accession  of 
the  new  Assyrian  king  in  625  B.C.,  '  ipalassar  (^Nabil- 
apil-uijii)',  "Nebo  protect  the  soni'  ,,  a  Chakhean,  was 
made  viceroy  in  Babylon.^  This  we  may  assume  to  have 
been  the  result  of  a  claim  formally  set  up  by  the  Chal- 
djean  chief.  Of  the  compromise  thus  effected  the  most 
was  made  by  the  ambitious  pretender.  He  was  prudent 
enough  to  take  one  step  at  a  time ;  and  as  the  next  step 
was  to  make  him  the  heir  to  Nineveh  itself,  it  behoved 
him  to  look  well  before  he  should  leap. 

§  823.  But  Nabo})alassar  had  need  of  timely  as  well  as 
of  cautious  action.  A  rival  claimant  —  the  king  of  the 
Medes  —  at  the  head  of  a  young  and  vigorous  nationality 
threatened  soon  to  be  master  of  Ninev  h  and  therewith  of 
the  whole   Semitic  realm.      It  was  him  that  Nal)o- 

palassar  began  that  series  of  negotiatxo.  md  combinations 
which  ended  with  the  subjection  of  Asia  from  the  Mediter- 
ranean to  the  l)orders  of  India  to  one  single  ruler,  who 
was  neither  a  Median  nor  a  Babjdonian.  The  ]Medes  were 
a  composite  nationality.  We  first  hear  of  them  in  Assyrian 
history  two  centuries  before  the  present  crisis,  under  Shal- 
manezer  II  ^  mid  his  two  successors  (cf.  §  247  f.).  Their 
name  seems  to  have  been  long  a  geographical  rather  than 
an  ethnical  expression.  At  first  they  were  not  more  impor- 
tant than  the  numerous  neighbouring  tribes  of  non-Aryan 

^  According  to  the  Canon  of  Ttolemy  he  was  'king'  in  Babylon,  but 
as  we  have  seen  (§  820)  Asshur-etil-ihlni  was  acknowledged  in  central 
Babylonia  four  years  after  that  date. 

2  See  Winckler,  UAG.  p.  100  ft. :  Zur  medischen  und  altpersichen 
Geschichte  ;  alsoOppert,  Le  peuple  et  la  langite  des  iledes,  1878  ;  Delattre, 
Le  peiiple  et  V empire  des  Medes,  1883. 


^\ 


Cn.  X,  §  824  RISK   OF  THE   ARYAN  MKDES 


405 


race,  who,  like  them,  were  repeatedly  coerced  by  the 
Assyrians,  and  as  often  rejected  their  sovereignty.  Sargon 
carried  his  conquests  further  among  them,*  though  the 
absolute  submission  of  them  all  was  never  achieved  by 
him  or  by  any  other  Assyiian  ruler.  Aftt'r  his  time  there 
was  little  interference  with  them  from  the  side  of  the  Nine- 
vite  empire  ;  and  when  once  the  inroads  of  tlie  Kinnnerians 
and  Si-ythians  had  begun  it  was  quite  out  of  the  question. 
It  is  difficult  to  settle  the  time  of  the  immigration  of  tlie 
Aryan  Medes.  There  are  signs  of  their  presence  in  sug- 
gestions of  Aryan  forms  in  the  names  of  Median  chiefs  in 
the  time  of  Sargon,  about  715  B.c.^  It  is,  then,  most 
reasonable  to  assume  that  in  the  earlier  half  of  the  eighth 
century  B.C.  the  Aryan  element  was  so  strong  in  several 
districts  as  to  have  assumed  the  leadership.  At  any  rate, 
whatever  may  have  been  the  original  population  which 
bore  the  Median  name,  the  element  wliieh  became  a  new 
combinatory  controlling  power  was  the  Iranian,  which  in 
its  more  southerly  oi  i'ersian  immigration  was  to  exhibit 
a  faculty  of  organization  and  of  government  greater  and 
more  memorable  still. 

§  824.  Notwithstanding  the  illustrative  material  which 
has  been  gathered  in  recent  years,  we  are  still  far  from 
being  able  to  make  out  a  connected  history  of  the  early 
kingdom  of  the  Medes.  Even  the  brief  list  of  kings  sup- 
plied by  Herodotus  must  be  used  with  reserve.  The  earli- 
est ''king,"  Deiokes,  was  probably  a  powerful  chief,  who 
towards  the  end  of  his  life  was  proclaimed  king  by  the 
leading  tribes.  According  to  Herodotus  he  reigned  from 
699-646  B.C.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  at  any  rate,  that  about 
the  middle  of  the  seventh  century  B.C.,  the  principal  ^Median 
communities  were  united  under  one  sovereignty,  with 
Ekbatana  (Hamadan)  as  the  capital.     If  we  may  trust  the 

1  It  will  be  remembered  that  a  deportation  of  Samarians  was  made  by 
him  to  "cities  of  Media  "  (2  K.  xvii.  0  ;  §  .']C2),  a  fact  which  shows  that 
he  confidently  expected  to  completely  subdue  the  country. 

2  See  Note  3  in  Appendix. 


i|! 


I'. 


I 


i 


i,!l 


I 


111  i 


^It  :. 


I 


:! 


ii 


406 


MEDES,   CHALD^.AXS   AND  NINKVEll      Book  VIII 


story  learned  by  Herodotus  from  Persian  sources,  the  next 
king,  Phraortes  (646-625),  extended  the  new  dominion  as 
far  as  the  borders  of  Assyria,  and  even  presumed  to  attack 
Nineveh  itself.  He  was,  however,  defeated  and  slain  in  a 
battle  outside  the  walls.  The  year  of  his  death  coincides 
with  the  accession  of  Asshur-etil-ilani  (§  820),  and  the 
tradition  has  at  least  a  certain  measure  of  confirmation, 
from  the  fact  that  the  alleged  attempt  was  made,  according 
to  the  good  old  custom,  at  a  time  of  transition  in  the  gov- 
ernment.^ Phraortes  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Kyaxares. 
Still  following  the  story  of  Herodotus,  we  learn  that  he  at 
once  renewed  the  Avar  upon  Assyria,  and  was  engaged  in 
besieging  Nineveh,  when  he  was  called  home  by  reason  of 
an  assault  of  Scythians  upon  his  own  capital.  He  was 
tlien  occupied  for  many  years  in  trying  to  rid  his  domin- 
ions of  the  intruders.  Having  finally  disposed  of  them 
by  combined  valour  and  stratagem,  he  was  at  length  in  a 
position  to  take  up  what  had  now  become  an  hereditary 
obligation,  with  the  result  known  to  all  men,  the  capture 
and  destruction  of  the  world-renowned  city. 

§  825.  This  much  at  least  of  historical  truth  is  con- 
tained in  the  traditions ;  namely,  that  repeated  attempts 
were  made  by  the  ]\Iedes  to  subdue  Assyria  before  the 
capital  was  finally  taken.  The  whole  situation  corresponds 
admirably  with  the  general  facts  most  commonly  held  as 
to  the  direct  occasions  of  the  great  catastrophe.  Two  tra- 
ditions have  had  currency,  one  from  Berossus,  a  Baby- 
lonian, and  the  other  from  Herodotus  by  way  of  Persian 
informants.  The  former  relates  that  it  was  by  the  com- 
bined forces  of  the  Medes  and  Babylonians,  that  Nineveh 
was  brought  to  its  end ;  the  latter  gives  the  credit  to  the 
Medes  alone.  According  to  Berossus  a  league  was  made 
between  Kyaxares  and  Nabopalassar  and  confirmed  by  the 

1  Ct,  Tiele,  BAG.  p.  408.  We  may  notice  that  the  date  of  this  attack 
agrees  well  with  our  assumption  as  to  the  time  of  the  main  Scythian  inva- 
sion (§  811).  The  later  inr(ia<ls  were  more  local,  and  naturally  fell  most 
hardly  upon  the  Median  possessions. 


Book  VIII 


Cii.  X,  §  826 


BASIS  OF  AN  ALLIANCE 


407 


marriage  of  the  daughter  of  the  Mecle  to  the  son  of  the 
Chaldcoan,  the  crown-prince  Nebuchadrezzar.  This  famous 
matrimonial  alliance  may  have  been  anticipated  by  a  few 
years  in  the  story,  but  otherwise  there  is  nothing  to  awaken 
our  scruples.  That  Herodotus  does  not  speak  of  the  par- 
ticipation of  the  Chaldicans  is  obviously  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  the  Persian  account  was  the  Median 
tradition,  that  tlie  Medes  had  previously  been  the  only 
aggressors,  and  that  they  moreover  played  the  leading 
role  in  the  final  campaign. 

§  826.  The  motive  and  the  progress  of  the  action  may 
now  be  outlined  as  follows.  The  appointment  of  Nabo- 
palassar  the  Chaldtean  as  Assyrian  viceroy  (§  822)  was 
more  than  a  concession  to  the  old  revolutionary  party  in 
Babylonia.  It  was  a  matter  of  necessity  rather  than  of 
grace  on  the  part  of  the  enfeebled  suzerain,  —  not  that 
the  military  force  at  the  disposal  of  Nabopalassar  was 
already  very  formidable,  but  that  the  Assyrian  guards  were 
no  longer  sufficient  to  repress  the  next  probable  uprising. 
After  a  few  years  these  garrisons  were  either  withdrawn 
or  driven  out,  or  made  Babylonian.  The  old  ChakUean 
policy  of  war  against  Assyria  could,  however,  not  be  taken 
up  safel}-  single-handed.  Nineveh  was  almost  impregna- 
ble. Moreover,  it  was  claimed  by  the  Medes,  and  a  war 
with  them  would  be  the  certain  outcome  of  independent 
action.  In  the  old  times  this  would  be  the  natural  order 
of  things ;  but  the  world  was  growing  wider  (cf.  §  774  f . ), 
and  its  leaders  were  growing  wiser.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Medes  w^ere  no  longer  sanguine  of  the  result  of  an 
unsupported  attack  upon  the  great  fortress.  They  hail 
suffered  from  the  Scythian  hordes  who  were  still  thieaten- 
ing  tliem,  and  an  ally  of  Chalda^an  temper  and  steadfastness 
was  much  to  be  desired.  Hut  the  negotiations  had  a  view 
also  to  the  future.  Already  the  Medes  had  contemplated 
the  sovereignty  of  the  whole  upland  of  Western  Asia. 
The  territory  of  Nineveh  was  naturally  embraced  within 
its  scope.     But  Assyria  was  Semitic,  like  Babylonia,  and 


I 


i 


408 


THE   DESTRUCTION  OF   NINEVEH 


Book  VIII 


its  prescriptive  dominion  was  exercised  over  the  lowlands 
from  sea  to  sea.  To  this  dominion  the  Babylonian  rulers 
aspired  by  a  kind  of  immemorial  right  (§  93, 116),  and  they 
were  preparing  to  assert  their  claim.  Hence  the  compro- 
mise was  proposed  which,  as  all  the  world  knows,  was  car- 
ried out  after  Assyria  was  swept  out  of  the  way.  Perhaps  no 
moment  was  more  critical  for  the  fate  of  the  Semitic  world, 
including  the  people  and  the  hope  of  Israel,  than  that  in 
whicli  Nabopalassar  decided  to  put  his  sword  at  the  service 
of  the  Medes  in  the  final  onslaught  upon  the  hated  Assyrian. 
§  827.  P'or  the  rest,  we  must  in  the  mean  time  be  con- 
tented with  the  knowledge  that  the  allies  succeeded  in 
their  campaign.  How  long  the  siege  lasted,  and  what 
were  its  vicissitudes,^  we  cannot  tell.  Even  the  year  of 
the  capture  is  not  settled  beyond  controversy.  Assyria 
was  still  a  power  in  608  B.C.,  when  Phar.aoh  Necho  H 
undertook  that  march  against  Nineveh  which  had  so 
strange  and  tragic  a  termination  (2  K.  xxiii.  29).  In 
605,  the  date  of  the  battle  of  Carchemish  (Jer.  xlvi.  2), 
Nineveh  was  no  more,  and  the  heirs  had  disposed  of  the 
effects.  Hence  we  must  place  the  date  either  in  607  or  in 
606  B.C.,  and  probably  in  the  former  year.  The  destruc- 
tion of  the  city  was  summary  and  absolute.  The  world 
has  not  seen  its  like  before  nor  since.  The  concentrated 
liatred  of  the  long-harassed  nations  at  last  found  expres- 
sion. Though  Medes  and  Chaldajans  took  the  lead,  there 
were  found  in  the  ranks  of  the  besiegers  warriors  from  far 


1  A  suggestion  comes  from  Nah.  li.  6:  "The  gates  of  the  streams  are 
opened  and  the  palace  is  dissolved  (with  terror)."  According  to  Diodo- 
rus  (ii,  26),  it  was  a  traditional  saying  that  Nineveh  could  not  be  taken 
unless  the  river  should  become  the  enemy  of  the  city.  It  has  been  con- 
jectured that  the  waters  of  the  Choser,  which  runs  southwesterly  into  the 
'IMgris  through  Nineveh,  being  raised  by  the  spring  floods,  and  the  ordi- 
nary outlets  having  been  stopped,  the  whole  force  of  the  swollen  stream 
beat  upon  and  undermined  the  foundations  of  the  inner  wall  of  the  city. 
See  in  Delitzscli  and  Haupt's  Ihitrliye.  xnr  Assyriologie,  III,  1,  "  Der 
Untersang  Ninevth".**."  by  A.  Jeremias  and  Col.  A.  Billerbeck,  p.  102  and 
146  f.     Cf.  Kawlinson,  Five  Jlonarchies,  ii,  397. 


TT 


Ch.  X,  §  829 


ITS  SINGULAR   FATE 


400 


luul  near,  to  whom  the  task  of  vengeance  was  a  uiilitia 
sacra.  That  process  of  devastation  undergone  by  hun- 
dreds of  cities  at  the  hands  of  the  remorseless  Ninevite 
was  now  reenacted  upon  the  oppressor  with  formal  exact- 
ness. After  the  sword  and  fire  had  done  their  work,  the 
city  was  buried  under  debris  and  earth,  so  that  its  memory 
miglit  vanish  from  among  men.  The  obliteration  was 
complete.  All  the  ancient  fortresses  that  encircled  tlie 
central  city  from  Khorsabad  to  Nimrud  were  reduced  to 
a  uniformity  of  desolation,  so  that  the  mound  of  Nineveh 
proper  could  not  be  distinguished  from  the  other  ruins  by 
later  generations.^ 

§  828.  And  yet  the  last  fate  of  the  devoted  capital  is 
stranger  than  the  first.  The  very  means  employed  to 
consign  the  city  to  oblivion  were  the  occasions  of  its 
now  assured  immortality.  No  new  walls  or  temples  were 
constructed  from  its  colossal  remains.  No  wandering 
liordes  encamped  among  its  ruins  for  shelter  or  defence. 
Even  the  slowly  destroying  elements  of  nature  were  ex- 
cluded. And  so  its  demolition  became  its  preservation. 
Thus  it  stands  to-day,  disentombed  and  self-revealed,  tell- 
ing to  alien  peoples,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  by  its  own 
written  memorials,  its  solemn  and  weighty  lessons  that  break 
through  the  silence  of  the  ages  like  voices  of  doom. 

§  829.  No  event  in  the  history  of  the  nations,  except- 
ing the  fall  of  Babylon,  awakened  such  interest  among 

1  Xenoplion  states  {Anah.  iii.  4,  9)  that  in  passing  close  to  what  we 
now  know  to  be  the  site  of  Nineveh,  he  was  shown  a  mass  of  ruins  which 
went  by  the  name  of  Larissa.  According  to  a  conjecture  of  Nolcleke, 
this  was  the  Resen  of  fJcn.  x.  12,  whicli  lay  between  Kalach  and  Nine- 
veh. A.  .leremias,  op.  cit.  p.  114,  says  that  the  statement  of  Xenophon  is 
"unreliable"  {unznirrlassuj).  It  would  be  more  correct  to  say  that  it 
lias  been  misunderstood.  At  all  events,  Xenophon  does  not  appear  to 
have  suspected  that  he  was  beside  the  site  of  Xliicveh,  and  this  is  the 
most  significant  thing  in  the  passage.  In  Lucian's  famous  dialogue, 
Charon,  Hermes  says  (§  2."])  :  '*0  Ferryman,  Nineveh  has  perished  and 
not  a  tr.ace  of  it  remains,  nor  can  any  one  say  where  it  ever  was."'  This 
nuist  be  undei-stood  in  the  same  sense,  and  is  hardly  a  •■poetical  exag- 
geration," aa  Jeremias  calls  it. 


M 


^il 


f 

■ 


1  i 


:i 


410 


FALL  OF  NINEVEH  IN  PROPHECY         Book  VIII 


HI 


the  Prophets  of  Israel  iis  did  the  fate  of  Nineveh.  To 
this  theme  one  prophetical  work  is  entirely  devoted, 
while  others  take  it  as  a  leading  text.  The  decline  of 
Hebrew  prophetism  after  the  earlier  years  of  Manasseh 
has  already  been  alluded  to  (§  800).  For  forty  years  tlie 
faith  and  hope  of  Israel  found  no  voice  among  the  people. 
But  when  Josiah  came  to  his  majority,  the  religious  life, 
which  had  not  been  dead  but  only  sleeping,  awoke  again 
to  earnest  expression.  The  reforms  in  worship  which  go 
under  the  name  of  Josiah  were  the  outcome  of  this  deeper 
movement  (§  807).  But  it  had  far  wider  scope  and  reach 
than  could  be  afforded  by  the  mere  outward  form  of  ritual. 
It  was  a  long  break  in  the  line  of  Prophecy  that  was  made 
when  Micah  uttered  his  latest  message.  And  when  the 
word  was  taken  up  by  Zephaniah,^  it  was  as  a  voice  cry- 
ing in  the  wilderness,  true  and  strong  as  of  old,  but  reach- 
ing out  widely  for  companionship  among  the  memorable 
voices  of  the  past. 

§  830.  Zephaniah  has  given  us  one  of  the  most  gen- 
eral of  all  prophecies.  Without  a  somewhat  close  survey 
of  contemporary  affairs  we  might  be  inclined  to  call  him 
vague  and  discursive.  Our  latest  studies  make  clear  to  us 
his  outlook  among  the  nations.  Since  the  revolt  in  which 
Manasseh  was  implicated  (§  801)  there  had  been  quiet 
in  Asia,  broken  only  by  the  tumultuous  inroads  of  the 
Scythians.  But  to  thoughtful  observers  an  upheaval  was 
impending ;  and  the  Hebrew  prophet  turned  his  eyes 
towards  Nineveh  as  the  scene  of  the  great  catastrophe. 
Hence,  though  he  speaks  primarily  for  Judah  and  Jeru- 
salem, he  points  his  moral  also  from  the  sins  and  fates  of 
other  peoples,  the  culmination  of  which  is  found  in  the 

1  It  would  seem  remarkable  that  Jeremiali,  who  has  such  an  open  eye 
for  the  events  of  his  time,  and  who  began  to  prophesy  nearly  twenty  yeare 
before  the  fall  of  Nineveh,  docs  not  allude  to  that  event  or  its  antecedent 
occasions.  The  explanation  possibly  is,  that  the  prophet  did  not  commit 
his  discourses  formally  to  writing  till  604  n.c.  (ch.  xxxvi.  1  ff.)>  and 
thsit  those  which  may  have  been  delivered  upon  this  theme  were  then 
passed  over  as  being  no  longer  of  special  relevance. 


Cii.  X,  §  831 


ZEPIIANIAII   AND  NAIIOI 


411 


iniquitous  pride  and  speedy  fall  of  the  Assyrian  capital. 
The  whole  world,  that  is  the  Semitic  world,  is  to  undergo 
exemplary  punishment,  particularly  the  apostates  in  Jeru- 
salem (i.  1-6).  The  classes  of  people  to  be  thus  visited 
are  pointed  out,  —  the  royal  household,  the  wealthy  trad- 
ers, the  careless  and  defiant  citizens  generally,  —  and 
their  chastisement  is  set  forth  in  language  largely  figu- 
rative (i.  7-18).  Then  comes  the  lesson  from  the  nations 
(ch.  ii.).  Unless  Jehovah's  own  people  repent  in  time 
(vs.  1-3),  their  fate  shall  be  the  doom  that  is  about  to 
fall  upon  the  Philistines  (vs.  4-7),  upon  ]Moab  and  Am- 
mon  (vs.  8-11),  upon  Egypt  and  Ethiopia  (v.  12),  and 
finally  upon  Assyria  and  Nineveh :  "  So  He  will  stretch 
out  His  hand  over  the  north,  and  shall  destroy  Assyria, 
and  make  Nineveh  a  desolation,  and  an  arid  waste  like  a 
wilderness ;  and  herds  of  beasts  shall  lie  down  in  her 
midst,  every  animal  of  (every)  nation ;  pelicans  and  por- 
cupines shall  lodge  among  her  pillars,^  their  voice  shall 
sing  in  the  windows ;  desolation  shall  be  on  the  thresholds ; 
for  he  hath  made  bare  the  cedar-work.  This  is  the  exult- 
ing city  that  dwelt  in  security,  that  said  in  her  heart,  '  I 
and  no  one  else ! '  How  has  she  become  a  desolation, 
a  couching-place  for  beasts  I  Every  one  that  passeth  by 
her  shall  hiss,  and  wave  his  hand "  (vs.  13-15). 

§  831.  It  is  Nahum,  however,  that  is  the  chief  censor 
of  Nineveh  among  the  Prophets  of  Israel.  His  book, 
written  apparently  about  610  B.C.,  is  entitled,  "  the  oracle 
concerning  Nineveh."  Its  ultimate  motive  is  still  the 
welfare  of  his  own  and  Jehovah's  land;  but  to  him  tliis 
is  absolutely  involved  in  the  destruction  of  Assyria.  The 
decisive  event  is,  moreover,  the  great  tragedy  of  human 
history,  so  that  the  fate  of  no  other  nation  comes  under 
notice.  The  doom  which  was  vaguely  foreseen  by  Zepha- 
niah,  is  to  Nahum  immediately  impending.    The  prophecy 

1  Literally,  the  capitals  of  the  pillars,  an  illustration  of  Hebrew  synec- 
doche; compare  "cedar-work,"  for  palaces,  temples,  and  state  buildings 
in  the  same  verse. 


i 


I 


I'  ■  "E 

.1 


I, 


r^' 


1 1 
if 


412 


THE   BOOK   OF  NAHUM 


Book  VIII 


begins  with  a  sublime  theopbany  like  that  of  Habakkuk, 
or  of  Mieah  vi.,  or  of  Isa.  xxx.  (§  718),  or  of  Ps.  xviii.,  or 
of  Ps.  1.  —  an  intervention  of  Jehovah  demanded  by  world- 
wide issues  (i.  1-6).  The  same  Jehovah  that  is  kind  to 
those  who  trust  to  him  now  comes  to  devote  his  enemies 
to  utter  destruction,  while  Israel,  relieved  from  the  tyrant, 
shall  welcome  the  messenger  that  brings  the  tidings  of  his 
fall  (i.  7-15).  Next  comes  a  description  of  the  assault 
upon  Nineveh  by  terrible  foes,  here  unnamed,  but  whom  we 
may  designate  as  Medes  and  Chaldteans.  The  desperate 
measures  of  defence,  all  unavailing,  the  capture  and  the 
spoliation,  are  set  forth  in  a  vivid,  excited  style,  with 
ejaculations  and  abrupt  transitions,  corresponding  to  the 
actions  portrayed  (ch.  ii.).  The  struggle  within  the 
walls  and  the  dreadful  carnage  are  the  subjects  of  the  next 
pen-picture,  to  which  is  appended  the  moral  of  the  story 
(iii.  1-7).  The  destruction  of  Thebes  in  Egypt  (§  770)  is 
cited  as  an  example  of  what  is  to  befall  its  conqueror,  in 
spite  of  her  defences,  her  wealth,  and  her  military  discipline, 
which  only  aggravate  the  terror  of  her  well-deserved  pun- 
ishment, her  desolation,  and  her  woe  (vs.  8-19). 

§  832.  The  description  of  the  coming  siege  and  the 
destruction  of  city  and  people  is  so  minutely  realistic  and 
so  full  of  local  colouring,  that  it  has  been  held  ^  to  have  been 
written  by  one  personally  conversant  with  the  locality. 
At  all  events,  Nahum  was  intimately  acquainted  with  the 
modes  of  warfare  and  defence  employed  by  the  Assyrians. 

1  Namely,  by  A.  Jeremias  in  the  essay  above  cited  in  the  Bcitrlige  zvr 
Assijriohxjie.  The  whole  prophecy  is  there  minutely  treated,  especially 
from  the  Assyriological  standpoint,  and  many  suggestive  explanations 
given  of  special  allusions  in  the  text  of  the  prophecy.  The  curious  reader 
is  also  referred  to  the  appended  essay  by  Billerbeck  on  the  siege,  its 
antecedents  and  concomitants,  the  armaments,  the  fortifications,  and  the 
defence.  An  excellent  analysis  of  the  prophecy  may  be  found  in  Farrar, 
The  ?Iinor  Prophets  (Xisbet  &  Co.),  p.  148  ff.  Tlie  main  criticism  to  be 
offered  to  this  and  most  other  expositions  is,  that  ii.  3-5  does  not  refer, 
as  is  supposed,  to  a  contest  in  the  street  or  a  defeat  of  the  defenders,  but 
to  hurried  preparations  for  defence. 


Cit.  X,  §  833     A  VIVID   AND  SfOVDfG  DESCRIPTION 


413 


He  brings  before  us  the  unifonn  of  the  soldiers  and  their 
glittering  shields ;  the  burnklned  chariots  gleaming  in 
their  swift  career  (ii.  3  f.) ;  the  desperate  rush  to  prevent 
a  threatened  breach  in  the  waE*  by  the  erection  of  a 
"  mantelet ; "  the  opening  of  the  river-gates  by  which  the 
citadel  is  reached  (ii.  5  f.,  §  827) ;  the  terrible  conflict  in 
the  streets  after  the  entrance  i*  effected ;  the  cracking 
of  whips,  the  rattle  of  wheek,  the  plunging  and  rearing 
horses,  the  jolting  chariots,  the  cLaurging  riders,  the  flaming 
swords,  the  glittering  spears,  the  heaps  of  the  wounded 
and  dying,  the  unnumbered  diead  (ui.  2  f.).  The  prophet 
declares  that  the  catastrophe  of  Xineveh  is  enacted  for 
the  relief  of  Israel.  It  sounds  like  irony.  And  yet  who 
would  have  thought  that  the  only  account  vouchsafed  to 
later  times  of  the  siege  and  capture  of  the  great  city  of 
Asshur  would  be  a  poetical  sketch  written  beforehand  in 
a  petty  subject  state,  nearly  a  thoiosand  miles  from  the 
scene,  by  the  servant  of  a  rival  and  rictorious  God  I 

§  883.  At  the  close  of  this  sorvey  of  the  achievements 
and  fate  of  Assyria  two  prophetic  images  rise  majestically 
into  view.  They  stand  worthily  beside  Isaiah's  picture  of 
the  great  spoiler  harrying  the  nations  and  the  peoples  as 
birds  are  driven  from  their  nests  (^  292,  723).  Nahum  re- 
sorts to  the  animal  kingdom,  and  finds  the  counterpart  of 
the  Assyrians  in  the  lion,  who  has  his  den  in  Nineveh  stored 
with  all  the  prey  of  the  lesser  Ijnex^ts  of  the  forest  —  "  the 
lions'  lair  and  the  feeding-plae-e  of  the  young  lions,  where 
strode  the  lion,  and  where  was  the  lioness  and  the  lion's 
brood"  (ii.  11  f.).  EzekieL,  the  learned  and  reflective 
prophet,  Avritiiig,  moreover,  twenty  years  after  the  fall 
of  Nineveh,  takes  a  more  composed  and  tranquil  view  of 
the  events  and  movements  of  hi*  time.  Looking  back 
upon  Assyria  in  her  towering  prominence  among  the  na- 
tions, he  chooses  an  image  from  the  growth  and  luxuri- 
ance of  the  vegetable  A\orld :  —  " Behftld,  the  Assyrian  was 
a  cedar  in  Lebanon  with  fair  branches  and  overshadowing 
boughs.     He  was  lofty  in  stature,  and  his  top  stood  out 


fl 


S 


I 


I 

'<     \ 
ft 


I 


414 


PROPHETIC   IMAGES  OF  ASSYRIA 


Book  VIII 


'  i 


from  between  his  twigs.  The  waters  made  him  great,  and 
the  water-depths  made  him  tall.  ...  In  his  boughs  all 
the  birds  of  heaven  built  their  nests;  beneath  his  foliage 
all  the  beasts  of  the  field  had  their  young;  and  in  his 
shadow  dwelt  many  nations.  .  .  .  The  cedars  in  the 
garden  of  the  Lord  could  not  match  him ;  nor  did  the 
cypresses  have  branches  like  his;  nor  were  the  plantains 
like  him  in  foliage :  no  tree  was  like  him  for  fairness  in 
the  garden  of  the  Lord  "  (xxxi.  3  ff.). 


APPENDIX 


NOTE  1  (§534) 


ABSOLUTE    RULE    IN    ISRAEL 


The  kingly  prerogative  in  Israel  may  be  illustrated  in  some 
of  its  important  asi^ects  from  the  modern  Mohammedan  sultan- 
ate. The  real  character  of  the  caliph's  government  is  well  set 
forth  in  the  subjoined  extract  from  Lord  Salisbury's  speech 
at  Guildhall  on  November  9, 1895.  Speaking  of  the  reforms 
that  were  being  pressed  upon  the  Porte  by  the  Powers,  the 
Prime  Minister  said,  among  other  things,  according  to  the 
cable  report :  — 

"  With  regard  to  the  result  of  the  negotiations,  if  the  reforms 
were  carried  into  effect  they  would  give  the  Armenians  every 
prospect  that  a  nation  could  desire  —  prosperity,  peace,  justice, 
and  safety  to  life  and  property.  But  will  they  be  carried 
out?  If  the  Sultan  can  be  persuaded  to  give  justice  to  the 
Armenians,  it  will  not  signify  what  the  exact  nature  of  the 
undertaking  may  be.  If  he  will  not  heartily  resolve  to  do 
justice  to  them,  the  most  ingenious  constitution  that  can  l>e 
framed  will  not  avail  to  protect  or  assist  the  Armenians.  Only 
through  the  Sultan  can  any  real  permanent  blessing  be  con- 
ferred on  his  subjects.  .  .  .  But  supposing  the  Sultan  will  not 
give  these  reforms,  what  is  to  follow?  The  first  answer  I 
should  give  is,  that  above  all  treaties,  all  combinations  of  the 
Powers,  in  the  nature  of  things,  is  Providence.  God,  if  you 
please  to  put  it  so,  has  determined  that  persistent  and  constant 
abuse  of  power  must  lead  the  government  which  follows  it  to 
its  doom ;  and  while  I  readily  admit  that  it  is  quite  possible 

415 


41<{ 


APrENDlX 


Note  1 


that  the  Sultan,  if  he  likes,  can  govern  with  justice  and  be 
persuaded,  he  is  not  exempt  any  more  than  any  other  potentate 
from  the  law  that  injustice  Avill  bring  the  highest  on  earth 
to  ruin." 

Those  who  would  object  to  a  comparison  between  the  con- 
stitution of  the  kingdom  of  David  and  that  of  the  Turkish 
empire,  who  confound  the  idealizing  Mosaic  economy  with  the 
actual  government  of  Israel,  as  is  done,  for  example,  by  the 
late  Dr.  E.  C.  Wines  throughout  his  learned  and  elaborate 
work.  Commentaries  on  the  Laws  of  the  Ancient  Hebrews,  may 
be  referred  generally  to  the  later  historical  books  of  the  Old 
Testament.     Cf.  §  bQ,  523. 


NOTE  2  (§  623) 


SARGOX'S    FIRST    BABYLONIAN   EXPEDITION 

See  the  discussion,  with  references,  in  Winckler,  ST.  II,  p. 
xvii  f.  The  contradiction  between  the  scribes  of  Sargon  and 
the  Babylonian  chronicler  is  complete  throughout.  Winckler 
makes  out  too  good  a  case  for  Sargon,  since  the  statement  of 
the  chronicle  that  the  Elamites  after  the  battle  of  Durilu  in- 
vaded Assyria  with  most  disastrous  consequences  to  the  latter, 
cannot  be  a  pure  fiction.  Sargon's  first  Babylonian  expedition 
was  doubtless  an  almost  utter  failure. 


NOTE  3  (§  629,  823) 


THE   ARYAN   MEDES 


It  is  interesting  to  note  in  connection  with  the  mention  of 
the  ]\le(les,  that  names  of  Indo-European  origin  are  now  begin- 
ning to  appear  among  the  northern  tribes.  For  instance,  the 
prince  of  Umildis,  one  of  the  tribes  of  Central  Armenia  (east  of 
Lake  Van),  was  called  Bagdatta  (Annals,  55-57),  plainly  an 
Iranian  proper  name  (=  "  God-given,"  Theodotos,  etc.).  As 
his  brother's  name  Ullusunu  is  non-Aryan,  it  is  fair  to  assume 
that  a  jNIedian  protectorate  of  some  sort  had  been  exercised 
over  the  district,  and  a  native  prefect  appointed  with  a  change 
of  name  to  denote  his  new  service.     In  the  same  way  we  find 


*^^ 


NoTK  4 


APPENDIX 


417 


the  Assyrian  name  Bohhazzav  (Bd-.sar-nsur)  as  that  of  a  niler 
in  Xorthern  ^Fedia,  sulKlued  by  Savgon,  whose  doniain  had 
been  made  tributary  by  Tiglatlipileser  III  (Winckh-i',  ST.  II, 
p.  xxiii,  note).  The  hypothesis  is  contirmed  by  tlie  fact  that 
an  Assyrian  governor  in  tlie  same  region  of  ^lanna,  who 
revolted  against  Sargon  (Annals,  7(5,  77},  bore  the  familiar 
Median  name  Dayakkit  (Deiokes,  §  8-J4}. 


NOTE  4  (§  G33) 

TIIK   SIK(iK    OF    ASHDOP 

Thk  expedition  to  Ashdod  is  very  fully  described  in  Sargon's* 
Inscriptions.  See  Annals,  215-228 ;  the  great  synoptic  In- 
scription, 90-112  (Winckler,  ST.  I,  pi.  33  f.) ;  the  Ashdod 
Inscription  (Winckler,  pi.  44,  45;  cf.  Smith,  AD.,  p.  288  ff.). 
The  last  named  is  the  fullest  document,  l)ut  it  is  unfortunately 
broken  and  incomplete,  though  it  supi)lies  us  with  some 
important  details.  It  dates  the  expedition  in  the  ninth  year 
of  Sargon,  but  as  the  Annals  put  it  in  the  eleventh,  Schrader 
(KAT.  401)  rightly  conjectures  that  the  reckoning  in  the 
former  case  is  made  from  the  eponynuite  of  the  king,  which 
took  place  two  years  after  his  accession  (cf.  §  358,  3G0),  accord- 
ing to  established  custom. 

I  append  a  translation  from  the  Annals :  "  Azuri,  the  king  of 
Ashdod  (As-du-di),  had  made  up  his  mind  not  to  pay  tribute, 
and  had  sent  to  the  kings  round  about  seditious  proposals 
against  Assyria,  and  on  account  of  the  evil  he  had  committed 
I  had  put  an  end  to  his  rule,  and  installed  as  their  king  Ahi- 
miti,  his  full  brother.  The  Hettites,  plotting  insurrection,  re- 
belled against  his  rule,  and  exalted  over  themselves  a  (certain) 
Yatna,  who  was  not  of  the  royal  house,  and  like-minded  with 
them  knew  no  reverence  for  the  kingly  authority.  In  the 
wrath  of  my  soul,  with  chariots  of  my  body-guard  (lit.  of  my 
feet),  and  horsemen  who  do  not  quit  my  immediate  presence 
(lit.  do  not  fail  from  the  place  of  the  inclining  of  my  hands), 
I  marched  rapidly  to  Ashdod,  the  city  which  he  ruled.  Ashdod, 
Gath,  and  Asdudimnui,  I  besieged  and  took.  Of  the  gods  who 
had  their  dwelling  there,  of  himself,  with  the  people  of  his 

2e 


418 


APPENDIX 


Note  4 


I  I 


land,  gold,  silver,  the  treasures  of  his  jtalace,  I  made  spoil. 
Their  cities  I  occupied  anew,  and  settled  in  them  people  from 
the  laiuls  which  I  had  conciuered.  My  viceroys  I  set  as  ad- 
ministrators over  them.  I  reckoned  them  as  of  the  people  of 
Assyria,  and  they  came  luuler  my  yoke." 

The  synoptic  Inscription  adds  (lines  101  ff.)  details  sub- 
sequent to  the  Assyrian  march  :  *•  JUit  Vamani  heard  from  afar 
of  the  coming  of  my  expedition,  ami  tied  to  the  borders  of 
Egy[(t,  Avithin  the  limits  of  Melucha  (§  DO),  and  it  was  not 
found  out  where  he  wao.  .  .  .  The  king  of  ]\leliicha  who 
[dwelt]  in  an  obscure  [out  of]  the  way  region,  whose  fathers 
since  remote  days,  the  time  of  the  Moon-god  (cf.  Ps.  Ixxii.  5), 
had  sent  no  aml)assadors  (riders)  to  the  kings  my  fathers  to 
ask  for  a  treaty  of  peace,  heard  afar  of  the  might  of  Asshur, 
Xebo,  and  Merodach ;  fear  of  the  splendour  of  my  royalty 
overspread  him,  ami  terror  was  shed  forth  upon  him;  he 
threw  him  into  chains,  and  fetters  and  bonds  of  iron,  and 
they  brought  him  to  Assyria  into  my  ])resence." 

The  Ashdod  Inscription  tells  of  defences  made  by  the 
usurper,  and  of  his  canals  made  for  water  supply,  which  Smith 
compares  Avith  the  similar  work  undertaken  by  Hezekiah  about 
the  same  time  (2  Chr.  xxxii.  3  f.).  Its  most  important  state- 
ment, however,  which  immediately  follows  this,  refers  to  the 
part  taken  in  the  revolt  by  other  principalities  in  Palestine. 
As  the  passage  has  not  been  quite  correctly  understood,  I  give 
a  rendering  of  the  text  (Winckler,  pi.  44  D.  lines  L'o-oS) :  — 

"  [The  kings]  of  Philistia,  Judah,  Edom,  INIoab,  dwellers  by 
the  sea,  payers  of  tribute  and  gifts  to  Asshur,  my  lord,  plotters 
of  sedition,  did  not  refrain  from  mischief,  for  in  order  to  stir 
up  rebellion  against  me  they  brought  gifts  of  friendship  to 
Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt,  a  prince  Avho  was  no  saviour  to  them, 
and  sued  with  him  for  an  alliance."  —  For  menu  (line  29)  in 
the  sense  of  "restraining,  withholding."  of.  tlv  vexed  line 
V  R.  1,  122. 

The  above  interesting  extracts  su 
The  "  Hettites  "  mentioned 
Ashdod   of    Palestinian    on       .   as    ( 
Grecian  immigrants  that  had  si-ttled  in  Philistia,  and  who  now 
formed  an  influential  class  in  Ashdoi       One  of  these  was  the 


two  remarks. 

s  a       he  people  of 

■  nguished    from    the 


Ndtk  4 


Note  5 


AIM'KXDIX 


m 


Yatna  of  the  Annals,  the  Yamani  of  the  synoittii-  and  of  tlie 
Ashdocl  Inscription  (line  15),  who  in  the  last-nanu'd  passage  is 
also  called  "a  soldier."  These  names  are  in  this  case  appella- 
tive surnames  like  the  English  proper  niimt'  ••  French  "  when 
tirst  employed.  The  former  name  (=  "Cyprian")  implies  that 
he  came  from  Cyprus  (Assyr.  Vatnan),  and  the  latter  (=  |V) 
that  he  was  of  Ionian  race.  These  phrases  indicate  that  the 
Greek  adventurers,  who  as  pirates,  kidnai»pers,  and  slave- 
dealers  (cf.  Joel  iii.  G ;  Zech.  ix.  13),  had  for  centuries  been 
harrying  the  Mediterranean  coast  as  far  as  Kgypt,  now  had  an 
actual  settlement  in  Ashdod  and  its  vicinity,  and  were  aspir- 
ing to  a  leading  place.  AVe  could  not  wish  for  a  better  ex- 
planation than  this  fact  aifords  of  a  passage  written  a  few 
years  before  (§  315) :  "  And  a  spurious  race  (LXX  dAAoyti'*/?) 
shall  have  its  seat  in  Ashdod,  and  I  will  cut  off  the  pride  of 
the  Philistines  "  (Zech.  ix.  G). 

Sargon  in  all  these  accounts  says  conventionally  that  he 
himself  led  his  chosen  troops  to  the  West-land.  The  express 
testimony  of  Isa.  xx.  1,  to  the  effect  that  it  was  his  general  who 
led  the  corps  against  Ashdod,  shows  how  his  statement  is  to 
be  interpreted,  and  reminds  us  that  a  great  proportion  of  the 
triumphs  of  the  Assyrian  kings  were  won  by  the  generals  to 
whom  they  rarely  give  the  credit  that  is  their  due  (cf.  §  57). 

The  words  applied  to  the  Ethiopian  king  of  Egypt  by  the 
scribe  of  Sargon,  "  no  saviour  to  them,"  remind  one  of  the  sar- 
castic language  of  the  Rabshakeh,  2  K.  xviii.  21,  and  concisely 
expresses  contemporary  Assyrian  opinion  as  to  the  value  of 
Egyptian  alliances  to  the  heli)less  people  of  Palestine.  The 
"  Pharaoh  "  alluded  to  is  probably  Sabataka,  who  had  already 
rendered  a  kind  of  homage  to  Assyria  (§  G30,  G32). 


f: 


NOTE   5  (§  633) 

.SAKGOX    AND   .H'DAH 

Besides  this  reference  to  Judah,  there  is  but  one  other  to  be 
found  in  the  numerous  inscriptions  of  Sargon.  In  the  so-called 
Nimrud  Inscription  (ST.  pi.  48),  in  a  list  of  self-exalting  epi- 
thets based  on  his  achievements,  occurs  the  phrase  (line  8): 


f 


I 


4^ 


APPENDIX 


Note  5 


mu-Sak-nii  mdt  Ya-u-du  Sa  a-hir-ia  ru-a-kH:  "The  subjugator 
of  the  land  of  Judah  whose  situation  is  remote."  This  ex- 
pression has  been  much  drawn  upon  in  support  of  the  hypothe- 
sis of  a  systematic  invasion  of  Judali ;  so,  for  example,  by 
Cheyne,  in  his  Prophecies  of  Isaiah  (but  virtually  disavowed  in 
his  Iittrodndioii  to  Isaiah,  lS\)o,  p.  lUl),  and  by  Sayce  in  his 
Life  and  Times  of  Isaiah  (where  on  p.  55  the  phrase  is  twice 
mistranslated).  But  it  has  been  pointed  out  (Wiuckler,  ST. 
I,  p.  xvii,  cf.  p.  vi,  note  2)  that  this  inscription  found  at 
Nimrud  must  have  been  composed  several  years  before  711, 
the  date  of  the  supposed  invasion,  since  no  event  occurring 
later  than  716  is  mentioned  in  it.  To  those  familiar  with  the 
style  and  contents  of  the  historical  inscriptions,  this  considera- 
tion will  be  conclusive.  What,  then,  can  be  the  application  of 
the  words?  There  are  two  possible  explanations.  It  may  be 
supposed  that  Sargon  was  clai'iung  for  himself  more  than  the 
words  literally  imply,  that  he  speaks  of  himself  as  "  subduing" 
the  country  when  he  had  only  received  its  formal  subjection 
with  or  without  a  display  of  force.  Or  it  may  be  conjectured 
(as  by  Wiuckler,  I.e.)  that  he  uses  "  Judah  "  by  a  curious  inac- 
curacy for  Israel,  or  the  "  Land  of  Omri,"  and  therefore  refers 
to  the  catastrophe  of  722-1.  I  am  inclined  to  press  the  former 
alternative,  and  to  assume  that  the  "  subjugation,"  so-called,  was 
effected  in  720.  In  this  critical  year,  when  insurrection  was 
rife  throughout  Syria  and  Palestine  (see  §  624  f.),  it  seemed 
necessary  to  put  Judah  under  bonds  to  keep  the  peace,  even 
if  it  had  no  intention  of  breaking  it.  Its  relations  to  the 
riiilistines  alone  (§  268),  who  were  immediately  concerned  in 
the  outbreak,  would  make  this  of  essential  consequence.  It 
was  doubtless  in  this  year  that  the  allegiance  sworn  to  Tig- 
lathpileser  III  was  formally  renewed  to  Sargon. 


NOTE  6  (§  638) 

BinHCAL    CHROXOLOOY    OF    THE    KIXOS 

I  .SHALL  not  trouble  my  readers  with  a  detailed  discussion  of 
the  chronological  problems  which  present  themselves  in  con- 
nection with  the  era  of  Hezekiah,  and  which  have  given  rise 


Note  d 


ArPKXDiX 


421 


to  unlimited  speculation  and  controversy.  The  simple  plan 
which  I  have  adopted  of  following'  a  single  main  guidint,'  thread 
downward  to  the  end,  ought  to  be  justified  l)y  the  results  if  the 
Biblical  figures  are  right.  Uy  taking  the  lengths  of  the  several 
reigns  from  the  ascertained  date  of  the  accession  of  Ahaz 
onward,  we  should  reach  the  correct  date  for  the  captivity  of 
Zedekiah  (§  58G),  the  goal  of  the  whole  investigation.  It  will 
be  in  place  here  to  make  a  general  reference  to  the  methods  of 
timing  events  and  marking  the  length  of  reigns  among  the 
ancient  Hebrews.  Without  clear  notions  on  these  n^atters,  it 
is  impossible  to  understand  either  a  date  or  a  synchronism  in 
the  Old  Testament,  or  to  reckon  up  periods  of  time.  As  there 
was  no  fixed  era  among  the  Hebrews,  it  was  necessary  to  date 
from  some  well-known  event.  At  first,  and  for  long,  it  would 
seem  that  some  striking  widely  known  occurrence  (ct/.  an 
earthquake.  Am.  i.  1)  was  chosen ;  but  from  about  the  time  of 
Ahaz,  ami  perhaps  through  Assyrio-Habylouian  inHuence,  the 
accession  of  the  reigning  king  was  used  as  the  point  of  de- 
parture, just  as  is  still  the  case  with  parliamentary  statutes  in 
Englaiul  and  her  colonies.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the  Jews, 
like  the  Assyrians,  reckoned  the  first  regnal  year,  not  from  the 
day  of  the  accession,  but  from  the  beginning  of  the  next  civil 
year,  that  is,  the  first  of  Nisan  following;  in  other  words,  the 
regnal  years  were  dislocated,  and  conformed,  for  ])urposes  of 
convenience,  to  the  civil  years.  The  interval  which  formed  the 
actual  beginning  of  the  reign  was  included  in  the  '•  last  year  " 
of  the  preceding  king,  whose  name  would  already  have  appeared 
iipon  documents  dated  earlier  in  that  portion  of  the  current 
year  preceding  his  death.  It  is  altogether  probable  that  this 
method  was  followed  by  the  editors  of  the  historical  books  in 
their  arrangement  of  their  materials.  The  Talmu<l  (Rosh 
hashflna  '2a)  states  that  the  reigns  of  kings  began  with  Nisan. 
Such  a  system,  when  universally  understood,  would  produce  no 
confusion  in  matters  of  dating,  and  there  was  a  necessity  of 
conforming  the  regnal  to  the  civil  year,  because,  as  Stade  puts 
it  ((tVI.  I,  99,  note),  one  could  not  always  keep  in  mind  the 
exact  month  in  which  the  reigning  king  came  to  the  throne. 

The  other  matter,  which  is  now  our  more  immediate  con- 
cern, is  the  principle  followed  in  reckoning  the  duration  of  the 


■■■■ 


422 


APPENDIX 


NOTK   6 


it* 


several  reigns.  Here  two  customs  might  be  followed.  Inas- 
mucli  as  the  years  of  any  given  reign  were  a  matter  of  record 
in  state  documents  and  elsewhere,  they  might  be  simply  noted 
in  the  chronicles  as  fixing  the  lengths  of  the  several  reigns. 
The  data  thus  drawn  upon  would  usually  not  furnish  an  abso- 
lutely exact  indication,  —  a  thing  which  as  a  rule  was  not 
attempted.  An  accurate  statement  had  to  be  given  when  the 
king  reigned  only  a  fraction  of  a  year;  but  as  soon  as  he 
reached  the  beginning  of  the  next  civil  year  he  entered  upon 
the  "  first  year ''  of  his  reign.  If  he  died  at  any  time  during 
that  civil  year,  he  would  be  said  to  have  reigned  one  year, 
though  it  might  be  several  months  more  or  less  than  a  full  year, 
and  so  on,  up  to  any  number  of  years.  Thus  Zedekiah  was 
dethroned  in  his  eleventh  year  (2  K.  xxv.  2)  four  months  after 
INisan,  and  is  said  to  have  reigned  eleven  years  (2  K.  xxiv.  18). 
The  Babylonian  Chronicle  is,  it  may  be  remarked,  much  more 
exact,  lint  there  is  another  possible  method  »\'liich  was  per- 
haps usually  employed.  The  portion  of  the  reign  intervening 
between  the  accession  and  the  following  Xisan  might  also 
bo  reckoned  sejiarately  as  a  year.  Thus,  for  example,  a  reign 
including  one  full  civil  j,?ar  and  a  fraction  of  a  year  at  each 
end  might  be  roughly  set  down  as  lasting  three  years,  just  as 
the  interval  from  Friday  evening  to  Sunday  morning  was 
reckoned  as  three  days.  So  even  the  Assyrian  Sargon  calls  the 
interval  m.c.  721-710  "  twelve  years  "  (Annals,  235  f.).  In  dat- 
ing, it  would  manifestly  be  impracticable  to  count  the  portion 
preceding  the  first  Nisau  as  belonging  to  the  current  reign, 
for  then  in  one  civil  year  there  would  be  two  fcn-ms  of  dating, 
one  referring  to  the  deceased,  and  the  other  to  the  reigning 
king.  But  the  shortening  of  the  beginning  of  the  reign,  thus 
made  legally  necessary,  was  known  to  be  a  conventional  fiction 
and  would  naturally  bo  disregarded  when  a  considerable  frac- 
tion of  a  year  intervened  before  the  constructive  commence- 
ment. If  this  was  the  usual  procedure,  it  would  be  right  in 
our  reckonings  ordinarily  to  deduct  a  full  year  from  the  num- 
ber of  years  assigned  to  each  alternate  reign  at  least.  It  is 
upon  the  assumption  that  this  method  of  reckoning  the  dura 
tion  of  reigns  was  usually  followed  that  I  shall  attempt  to 
divide  the  period  between  Ahaz  and  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  (586) 


Note  7 


APPENDIX 


428 


according  to  the  Biblical  data,  which  are  in  these  matters 
surely  correct.  Upon  no  other  hypothesis  can  all  the  recorded 
numbers  for  the  lengths  of  the  reigns  be  explained. 

The  most  notable  of  the  recent  contributions  to  the  chrono- 
logical question  have  been  made  by  the  following :  H.  lirandes, 
AbliaiuUioujen  zur  Geschichte  des  Orients  itii  Alterthnn,  1874; 
Wellhausen,  in  Jahrbucher  far  dent^^che  TheoUxju',  1S75,  j).  G07- 
640;  W.  R.  Smith,  in  Prophets,  p.  41o  tf . ;  Kamphausen,  Die 
Chronoloffie  der  hebrdischea  Kihdye,  1883;  Stade,  in  GVI.  1, 
88  ff. ;  Davis,  "  Chronology  of  the  Divided  Kingdom,"  Presb.  and 
lief.  Redeiv,  Jan.  1891.  Most  recent  critics  seem  to  favour 
715  as  the  date  of  Hezekiah's  accession,  though  many  still 
prefer  727.  Between  these  two  the  former  should  have  the 
preference,  mainly  because  his  years  and  those  of  his  succes- 
sors, taken  with  no  deduction,  fill  up  exactly  the  time  inter- 
vening until  the  fall  of  Jerusalem.  But  neither  of  the  diitcs 
accounts  for  the  embassy  of  ^Eerodach-Baladau  or  the  sixteen 
years  assigned  to  the  reign  of  Ahaz. 


NOTE  7   (§  040) 

TlIK    ALTAR   AT    DAMASCUS 

Max  Du-vcker  perceived  justly  that  this  altar  was  associ- 
ated with  Assyrian  Avorship  (Ilistorif  of  Antitjnifi/,  Kngl.  tr. 
1870,  vol.  iii,  p.  78) ;  and  he  is  wrongly  criticised  by  Stade 
(GVI.  I,  p.  508),  who  maintains  that  it  was  '*  the  altar  of 
Kezon,  the  chief  altar  of  Daniascus,"'  and  that  the  ground  of 
the  change  made  l)y  Ahaz.  was  merely  that  the  pattern  jdeased 
him  better.  The  "chief  altar  of  Damascus,"  if  the  phrase  can 
be  used  at  all,  was  now,  however,  devoted  for  a  time  at  least 
to  the  gods  of  Assyria.  Daujascus  had  just  been  politically 
obliterated,  and  it  was  a  part  of  the  proces  by  which  it  was 
made  an  Assyrian  province  that  the  gods  of  Assyria  should  be 
introduced  into  the  old  temples.  Such  a  procedure  is  stated 
by  the  Assyrian  kings,  over  and  over  again,  as  having  been 
employed  by  them  after  the  conquest  of  rebellious  cities. 
Whatever  remained  of  the  Syrian  cultus  after  the  destruction 
and  transformation  described  in  2  K.  xvi.  0,  was,  we  may  be 


424 


APPENDIX 


Note  7 


sure,  degraded  and  kept  well  in  the  background  during  the 
occupation  of  Damascus  by  Tiglathpileser.  The  altar,  being 
thus  devoted  to  the  uses  of  Assyrian  worship,  was  acceptable 
to  the  timid  and  superstitious  subject  prince.  It  was  for  this 
reason  that  "  the  pattern  pleased  him  tetter  "  than  the  altar  of 
the  depreciated  God  of  Israel.  Just  as  the  changes  which  he 
introduced  in  the  arrangements  and  furniture  of  the  temple 
are  expressly  said  (v.  18)  to  have  been  made  "because  of 
(^3Stt)  the  king  of  Assyria,"  so  without  doubt  the  whole  spirit 
and  method  of  the  national  worship  were  modified  in  defer- 
ence to  the  majesty  of  the  all-couqueriug  gods  of  the  new  rulers 
of  the  West-land. 


h 


NOTE  8  (§  044) 

DATK    OK    MICAH    I.-III. 

As  is  well  known,  it  is  impossible  to  fix  with  absolute  cer- 
tainty the  time  of  every  individual  utterance  of  Micah,  or  even 
to  define  the  limits  of  each  discourse,  for  the  reason  that  we 
have  his  prophecies  in  a  condensed  form,  edited  some  time 
after  they  were  spoken,  and  then  grouped  around  two  or  three 
leading  motives.  In  spite  of  the  many  ingenious  arguments 
that  have  been  brought  forward  in  favour  of  a  dual  or  even  a 
triple  authorship,  I  see  no  sufficient  reason  for  abandoning 
absolutely  the  hypothesis  of  an  original  unity  (cf.  §  59"),  note). 
The  common  division  of  the  book  into  three  sections  is  the 
best :  ch.  i.-iii. ;  iv.,  v. ;  vi.,  vii. 

According  to  Jer.  xxvi.  18,  Micah  flourished  in  the  days  of 
Ilezekiah ;  aiul  ch.  iii.  IL*,  which  is  there  quoted,  woukl  seem 
therefore  to  belong  to  his  reign.  The  statement  referred  to 
necessarily  means  only  that  the  greater  portion  of  his  pro- 
phetic career  was  passed  under  Hezekiah.  Chapter  i.,  which 
has  been  synchronized  and  harmonized  with  Isa.  xxviii.,  on 
account  of  its  reference  to  tlie  impending  ruin  of  Samaria 
(bc.  722-21),  was  apparently  written  towards  the  end  of  the 
reign  of  Ahaz ;  cf.  §  038  and  the  heading  i.  1,  which  presuma- 
bly did  not  come  from  Micah  himself,  but  represented  a  fairly 
reliable  tradition.     On  account  of  the  lack  of  data  for  deter- 


Note  7 


NoTK    9 


APPENDIX 


425 


mining  the  precise  time  of  ch.  ii.,  iii.,  it  is  convenient,  on 
account  of  tlieir  general  contents,  to  refer  to  them  as  repre- 
senting in  general  the  same  period,  which  of  course  includes 
the  earlier  years  of  Hezekiah. 


NOTE  0  (§  673) 

IXSCRIPTIOXS    OF    SIXACHERIB 

The  monuments  relating  to  Sinacherib,  though  fairly  abun- 
dant, are  not  so  extensive  as  the  inscriptions  of  several  other 
Assyrian  kings.  The  principal  document  is  the  cylinder,  or 
rather  six-sided  prism,  published  in  1  K,  ,'^7-42,  which  was 
discovered  in  Kuyunjik  in  1830  by  J.  E.  Taylor,  British  Vice- 
Consul  at  Bassora,  and  is  now  in  the  British  ^[useuni.  This 
describes  the  events  of  the  first  eleven  years  of  his  reign  in 
the  order  v.f  his  expeditions  or  campaigns.  The  section  relat- 
ing to  the  Palestinian  expedition  has  been  frequently  trans- 
lated and  commented  on,  and  is  the  best  known  portion  of  the 
whole  Assyrian  historical  literature.  A  briefer  edition  of  the 
same,  found  in  Kuyunjik  and  now  in  Constantinople,  contains, 
as  a  memorial  tablet,  an  addition  relating  to  one  of  Sinache- 
rib's  palaces  in  Nineveh.  It  is  published  in  I  K.  43,  44.  An 
inscription  uj^wn  the  Bulls  of  Kuyunjik  (III  R.  12,  13)  gives  a 
few  additional  facts.  We  must  add  the  so-called  Grotefend  or 
Belliuo  Cylinder,  published  in  Lay.  G3  f.,  which  goes  no  further 
than  the  second  campaign ;  also  the  remarkable  inscription  dis- 
covered at  Bavian,  northeast  of  Nineveh,  which  describes  the 
construction  and  dedication  of  a  canal  for  the  water-supply  of 
the  capital.  It  narrates  also  the  last  Babylonian  cam[)aign,  and 
gives  the  important  information  tliat  four  hundred  and  eigh- 
teen years  had  elapsed  between  Tighithpileser  I  and  the  date 
of  the  inscription.  All  of  the  inscriptions  have  been  translated 
in  RP. ;  the  Taylor  Cylinder,  with  extracts  from  the  others,  in 
KB.  I  R.  37-42  has  also  been  transcribed  and  translated  by 
R.  Hornung  (Leipzig,  187.S).  G.  Smith's  Jlistor;/  of  JSennnche- 
rib  (1878),  ed.  by  Sayce,  has  the  available  records  in  the  orig- 
inal texts,  in  historical  order,  transcribed  and  translated. 

Since  the  inscriptions  of  Sinacheril)  do  not  distinguish  events 


•  « 


426 


APPENDIX 


Note  9 


directly  by  tlie  i»roper  years  of  his  reign,  some  important  occur- 
rences cannot  with  certainty  be  supplied  with  exact  dates. 
There  is  no  space  for  a  discussion  of  the  various  cases,  and 
in  the  text  I  have  for  the  most  part  contented  myself  with 
giving  the  most  probable  indications  of  time.  Very  important 
help  is  afforded  by  the  Bab.  Chr.,  col.  II,  III,  especially  in 
what  relates  to  Babylonian  affairs  and  their  dates. 


NOTE   10  (§  G83) 

SINACHERIB    AXD    THE    SIECJE   OF    TYRE 

This  scheme  of  harmonizing  the  two  accounts  is  substan- 
tially that  adopted  by  iMeyer  (GA.  §  357, 383),  Hommel  (GBA. 
p.  676,  704  f.),  and  Winckler  (GBA.  p.  251  f.)  after  Smith 
(History  of  Sennacherib,  p.  69).  Special  points  in  which  the  con- 
structions above  made  differ  from  one  or  another  of  these  authori- 
ties it  is  unnecessary  to  specify.  The  opinion  that  Josephus  is 
right  in  regarding  Shalmaneser  as  the  Assyrian  king  in  ques- 
tion is  still  maintained  by  Tiele  (BAG.  p.  223,  237  f .).  A  minor 
difficulty  not  yet  solved  on  either  of  the  hypotheses,  arises 
from  the  fact  that  Menander  makes  Elulaeus  to  have  reigned 
thirty-six  years  over  the  Tyrians,  while  Tiglathpileser  III 
names  Hirom  as  king  of  Tyre  in  738  (§  310)  and  Metenna 
in  729.     For  possible  solutions,  see  Schrader,  KGF.  p.  49  ff. 


NOTE  11  (§  688) 

THE   SUBMISSION    OF    HEZEKIAH 

The  old  expositors  are,  after  all,  right  in  insisting  that 
Hezekiah  must  have  "  sinned  "  in  refusing  to  pay  the  stipu- 
lated tribute  to  Sinacherib ;  but  his  conscientiousness  was  not 
so  great  as  they  suppose,  since  his  conception  of  "sinning"  in 
this  case  was  quite  different  from  theirs.  Hezekiah  here  uses 
the  phraseology  which  was  regularly  employed  by  the  Assyr- 
ian suzerain  of  all  those  who  rebelled  against  his  authority 
(§  290).  Compare,  for  instance,  Sinacherib's  description  of 
the  insurgents  in  Ekron  (§  675,  col.  Ill,  2),  where  the  word 


NOTK    12 


APPEXDK 


427 


38,  arises 


for  sin  (hittu)  is  the  exact  e^juavali^MC  of  Hebrew  KUH.  —  The 
current  rendering  of  KiTK  (v.  H'liVr  "I  shall  bear,"  is  quite 
unsuitable,  for  it  was  of  no  <'iOiiiS(W|ietet»ee  to  Sinaeherib  whether 
Hezekiah  would  bear  the  additioiiial  Imnlen  or  not.  It  more- 
over ignores  the  usage  of  ItK  an  tint?  sense  of  raising,  bring- 
ing, contributing,  as  in  2  .S.  xix.  4-?,  Driver's  reniark  on  this 
passage  (Xotes  on  Samuel,  p.  tiC4K  wA.(^)  to  the  effect  that  KC*? 
nowhere  means  "  gave,"  misses  tSiKf  j)«r>int  of  connection  between 
the  primary  and  the  derived  inKtamnnip*  of  the  root.  It  more- 
over leaves  out  of  reckoning  tlt'e  dcerivatives  Kt2?tt  and  riKlTD 
"  contribution,  present " ;  cf.  CC  *'  ttiribute  "  and  "  tributary  " 


aaidl  the  Aram.  pBX  (see 
anul  Josh.  xvii.  3),  meaning 
biltu   "  tribute "   from    abcda 


derived  from  0C3  '*  to  raii?*', 
the  Targ.  of  1  K.  v.  28  (13) 
'•  contribute,"  also  the  Ass3'r- 
*'  carry." 

As  to  the  amount  of  the  fine  itedd  hj  Hezekiah,  it  has  been 
conjectured  that  the  Hebrew  aii^l  P!ii*niician  silver  talent  stood 
in  value  to  the  Babylonian  in  the  piwjiortion  of  eight  to  three. 
Hence  the  statement  of  .Sina<rheriJji  (eol.  IH.  .34)  that  he  took 
eight  hundred  talents  of  silver  fi^mi  Hezekiah,  would  agree 
with  2  K.  xviii.  14.  So  ,T.  BrauirliSr  Dan  Mibiz-,  Mass-  uml 
Geu'ichtswesen  i)i  Vnnhnmeu.  \MKi,  J*.  98.  The  agreement 
as  to  the  number  of  gold  talents  reinfiers  this  probable,  but 
direct  proof  has  not  yet  Ijeeii  otfer*»L 


NOTE  12  «|  emy 

TIIK   CAPTfUK  **r    LACHISH 

This  sculpture  is  presprve<i  nt  the  IJasement  Room  of  the 
British  Museum.  It  is  one  of  the  most  instructive  of  this 
whole  class  of  monuments.  Tlie  jAotoi^ph  published  by  the 
Museum  is  very  clear.  It  is  refurHjuilracefl  in  Stade,  GVI.  I.  p. 
(120,  and  in  Ragozin's  History  <>f  A»f>iinn. 

The  accompanying  inscri])ti<jiiiii  is  published  I  K.  7,  Nr. 
VIII.  T.     It  reads: 

"  Sinaeherib,  king  of  the  universe,  kmi,'  of  Assyria,  took  his 
seat  on  his  movable  (lit.  set  n\*^  thn'>ne,  and  the  captives  of 
Lachish  came  forward  into  his  pneseutt/' 


H 


i 


428 


APPENDIX 


Note  18 


NOTE   13  (§  707) 

THE    I'LAGUE    IX    SINACHKKIH'm    ARMY 

As  the  words  stand,  it  is  impossible  to  read  6180  as  tlie 
number  of  the  dead.  But  neither  is  it  in  accordance  with 
classical  Hebrew  usage  to  write  lKr)(M)0  in  the  fOrm  which 
the  present  text  offers.  I  believe  there  is  no  other  instance  in 
the  Old  Testament,  in  which  hundreds  (or  a  hundred)  of  thou- 
sands with  tens  of  thousands  is  expressed  without  the  word 
for  thousand  being  used  twice.  (Jf.  Numb.  ii.  9,  10,  24,  ,'51  ; 
xxvi.  ol.  Why  is  it  used  here  only  once  ?  If  the  hundred.s 
and  thousands  are  transposed,  518(»  will  result. 

For  the  ravages  of  disease  at  night  compare  Ps.  xci.  T*  f. 
Homer  (Iliad,  I.  37)  makes  Apollo  as  the  pest-god  descend 
"like  the  night"  upon  the  Grecian  camp.  It  is  interesting 
also  to  notice  that  the  name  of  Apollo  as  the  plague-dealer  is 
Smintheus,  the  mouse-god,  and  that  he  received  his  naiiit^ 
among  the  Teucrians,  because  by  means  of  field-mice  he  indi- 
cated to  them,  when  they  had  emigrated  from  Crete  and  landed 
in  Asia  Minor,  the  spot  where  they  were  to  settle.  When  they 
encamped  for  the  night,  a  large  numl)er  of  these  animals  gnawed 
their  baggage-straps  and  the  thongs  of  their  shields.  Now  the 
oracle  had  told  thenx  that  they  should  make  their  home  in  tin' 
place  where  they  should  be  attacked  by  the  original  inhabi- 
tants of  the  country,  and  in  acknowledgment  of  this  direction 
they  gave  Apollo  the  name  in  question.  It  is  further  signiti- 
cant  that  the  rat,  the  symbol  of  pestilence,  is  also  an  emblem 
of  night.  On  the  Egyptian  plague  in  Palestine,  see  G.  A. 
Smith,  H  G.  p.  157  ff. 


NOTE   14  (§  709) 

rOUKSK    OK    THK    IXVASIO.V    OF    SIXACIIERIB 

The  foregoing  sketch  of  Sinacherib's  expedition  differs  in 
some  imi)ortant  jjoints  from  those  made  by  my  predecessors. 
A  iirincijtal  misconception  as  to  the  time  of  the  invasion  ut 
Judah  and  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  has,  apparently,  been  due  tw 


Note  14 


APPENDIX 


429 


the  supposition  that  Sinacherib's  account  is  heUl  to  narrate  the 
events  in  strict  chronological  order.  But  even  a  cursory  read- 
ing makes  it  obvious  that  his  report  deals  with  and  disposes 
of  the  several  disaffected  states  in  turn.  The  reason  why,  for 
example,  the  attack  on  Jerusalem  is  mentioned  late,  is  because 
the  affair  with  Judah  was  protracted,  though  this  is  not  indi- 
cated in  the  Inscriptions.  Between  the  beginning  and  the  end- 
ing of  it,  several  other  events  might  intervene.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  it  is  apparent  that  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  which  was 
suspended  on  the  submission  of  Hezekiah,  must  have  taken 
place  before  the  conquest  of  Ekron.  Sinacherib  could  not 
have  reimposed  PadT,  as  king,  upon  that  city,  unless  he  had 
been  delivered  up  by  Hezekiah  upon  constraint.  A  monarch 
who  would  not  submit  till  he  had  lost  half  his  kingdom  and 
subjects,  would  not  have  assisted  his  enemies  by  surrendering 
their  ally  without  compulsion  (against  Stade,  GVI.  I.  p.  (ilO ; 
Driver,  Isaiah,  p.  73). 

^Moreover,  since  it  was  clearly  Sinacherib's  policy  to  attack 
the  rebel  communities  simultaneously,  there  was  no  reason 
why  he  should  put  off  the  invasion  of  Judah,  the  leading  in- 
surgent state,  till  he  could  approach  it  from  the  southwest 
(Driver),  when  there  was  an  equally  good  o})j)ortunity  of  enter- 
ing it  from  the  northwest.  As  to  the  actual  route  chosen, 
though  it  is  impossible  to  determine  it  exactly,  it  seems  likely 
enough  that  the  main  body  divided  on  the  coast  road  opjiosite 
Samaria.  The  interior  expedition,  passing  that  Assyrianized 
city,  and  perhaps  drawing  recruits  from  it,  Avould  then  have 
marched  due  south  to  Bethel,  and  thence  through  Miclunash, 
and  so  on,  according  to  the  expectation  of  Isa.  x. 

Another  misconception,  based  on  a  superficial  view  of  tlie 
cuneiform  reports,  ha.s  prevailed  with  regard  to  the  place  (occu- 
pied by  Egypt  in  the  plans  and  movements  of  Sinacherib.  At 
the  first  glance  this  seems  insignificant  enough;  so  that  Well- 
hauseii  has  a  certain  measure  of  right  in  alleging  (in  Bleek's 
Ehdeitung,  p.  250)  that  the  battle  of  Elteke  formed  only  an 
episode  in  the  siege  of  Ekron.  If  the  documents  had  been 
based  on  despatches,  or  on  the  field  reports  of  the  officers, 
their  present  form  would  have  to  he  taken  as  a  fair  represen- 
tation of  the  aims  and  actual  achievements  of  the  expedition. 


430 


Al'l'KNDIX 


Note  14 


I 


I 
P 


But  thpy  '^I'f  iii»'i"ply  a  ('oiiuiiPinonitive  rehearsal  of  the  brilliant 
deeds  of  the  CJreat  King,  and  tliey  were  drawn  out  after  the 
return  from  the  canipaij^'u  when  it  was  imitortant  for  imperial 
imrposes  that  the  whole  affair  should  be  treated,  not  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  king's  designs  before  the  march  from 
Nineveh,  but  from  that  of  the  situation  of  affairs  at  its  close. 
Hence,  in  this  case,  Sinaoherib,  being  foiled  in  his  great  idti- 
mate  plan  of  crushing  Egypt,  mentions  his  encounter  with  the 
troops  of  that  country  only  incidentally,  even  though  it  ended 
favourably  to  himself. 

"With  regard  to  what  concerns  us  more  nearly,  —  the  Jtidaite 
account  as  compared  with  the  Assyrian,  —  it  is  necessary  to  add 
a  word  or  two  of  special  comment.  The  account  in  Kings  is 
divided  into  three  sections:  2  K.  xviii.  13-1(5;  xviii.  17-xix.  7; 
xix.  8-.'io.  The  conclusions  reached  by  recent  criticism  as  to 
the  composition  of  the  whole  narrative  seem  to  the  present 
writer  to  be  of  secondary  importance  for  historical  purposes. 
It  may  be  that  the  tirst  of  these  sections  comes  from  a  different 
source  from  that  of  the  other  two.  The  main  point  is  tlie 
credibility  of  the  passages  in  question,  and  it  is  comforting  to 
find  that  Stade,  who  treats  somewhat  gingerly  the  whole 
Biblical  account,  concedes  the  accuracy  of  the  essential  state- 
ments in  all  three  portions  of  the  narrative  (UVl.  I,  021). 
One  undesigned  evidence  of  historical  accuracy  is  too  striking 
to  be  passed  over  by  any  well-informed  critic,  the  information 
(2  K.  xviii.  14,  cf.  xix.  8)  that  Sinacherib  had  his  headcjuarters 
at  Lachish  (§  GDO).  But  the  most  conclusive  proof  of  the 
general  reliability  of  the  large  portion  which  Stade  calls 
"  legendary,"  is  the  verisimilitude  of  the  arguments  used  by 
the  Rabshakeh.  These  could  not  have  been  framed  in  a  later 
age.  Historical  imagination  was  not  the  province  of  Hebrew 
literary  genius ;  and  the  political  conditions  implied  in  the  dis- 
course are  so  truly  representative  of  the  Assyrian  empire  in 
its  prime,  anel  of  that  alone,  that  they  are  perhaps  our  chief 
source,  outside  of  the  Inscriptions  themselves,  for  information 
as  to  the  inner  working  of  the  military  policy  of  the  Ninevite 
rulers  towards  subjugated  peoples. 

The  liiblical  account  is  admittedly  incomplete,  especially  in 
there  being  no  mention  in  the  section  2  K.  xviii.  13-lG  that 


Note  15 


ArPKNDIX 


4.11 


Jt'rusalein  liad  actually  been  besieyed.  l?ut  we  must  not  take 
this  as  seriously  as  Stade  does,  who  charges  that  "  tlie  legends 
are  in  error  in  supposing  that  there  was  no  siege  of  .lerusaleni 
at  all."  In  the  lirst  place,  omission  in  a  mejigre  extract  is  no 
proof  of  ignorance ;  nor  does  the  pledge  given  by  Isaiah  (xix. 
',V2  f.),  that  the  king  of  Assyria  should  not  undertake  siege 
operations,  prove  that  the  narrator  sui»posed  that  no  siege 
had  preceded.  In  the  second  place,  we  must  not  take  Sinache- 
rib's  account  of  the  siege  too  literally.  Having  nothing  to 
boast  about  in  the  tinal  outconn-  of  his  relations  with  .ludah 
and  Egypt,  he  not  only  keeps  silence  about  all  the  events  that 
followed  the  submission  of  Ilezi'kiah,  but  he  tries  to  make  as 
much  capital  as  possible  out  of  that  achievement.  .Inst  as  he 
invents  the  deportation  of  Hezekiah's  "  daughters  and  the 
women  of  his  harem"  (col.  III.  .'!.S  f.).  so  he  makes  a  great 
Hourish  about  his  investment  of  .Terusalem.  Closely  exam- 
ined, it  will  appear  that  he  only  really  means  that  the  city 
was  blockaded. 

A  final  remark  should  be  made  in  connection  with  the  part 
taken  by  Egypt.  -  K.  xix.  0  seems  to  imply  that  Tirhaka,  the 
Ethiopian  head  king  of  that  country,  was  the  leader  who  con- 
fronted Sinacherib  at  the  battle  of  Elteke.  The  Assyrian 
account,  on  the  other  hand,  merely  refers  to  the  king  of  Egypt 
without  naming  him.  Herodotus,  again,  gives  the  name  Sethon 
(>5  705)  to  the  king  of  Egypt  to  whom  the  divine  interference 
was  vouchsafed.  In  all  probability  it  was  the  same  ruler  that 
was  in  command  on  both  occasions,  and  it  seems  nnlikely  that 
this  was  Tirhaka.  It  is,  indeed,  not  absolutely  certain  that  he 
had  succeeded  to  the  over-lordship  of  Egy^it  at  the  date  of  these 
occurrences. 

NOTE   15  (§  715) 


ISAIAlf    XXX.    ( 

The  words  nS^  CH  SH"!  are  nndoubtedly  wrong  as  they 
stand.  No  Hebrew  would  use  such  an  eccentric  combination 
to  express  any  of  the  ideas  which  translators  have  extracted 
from  them.  If  ZSH"!  is  a  synonym  for  Egypt,  as  in  ch.  li.  '.>, 
Ps.  Ixxxvii.  4,  Ixxxix.  10,  the  preceding  phrase,  ''  I  have  called 


' 


432 


APrENDIX 


Note  16 


lior,"  implios  that  tlio  rpiuiiindcr  of  the  expression  is  an  epithet 
(leseriptive  of  E^yp^*  sueh  as  would  naturally  be  introduced  by 
tiic  article.  If  H  is  the  article  required,  we  must  draw  the 
two  words  together  and  read  DStt^On,  literally  "the  713^ 
maker  "  ;  i.e.  either  "  the  one  who  (in  others)  causes  inaction,"' 
or  "the  one  whose  working  results  in  inaction.''  If  this  is 
not  the  reading,  the  text  must  be  not  only  in  disorder,  but 
corrupt. 


NOTE   1()  (§  740) 

ixscRiPTioxs  OP  KSAKH.vnnoy 

Coxsn)KKiX(j  the  shortness  of  the  reign  of  Esarhaddon.  his 
monuments  are  fairly  abundant.  The  most  important  is  the 
six-sided  cylinder  found  in  two  copies  (known  as  A  and  C)  and 
published  in  Layard  20-27,  I  R.  45-47,  and  in  Abel  and 
"NVinckler's  Keibchrijltexte  22-24.  Next  comes  another  hex- 
agonal inscription  of  the  year  ()7.'i,  in  Lay.  54-08,  III  R.  15, 
16,  and  Abel  and  Winckler  25,  2(5.  This  is  known  as  (.'ylinder 
B  or  the  liroken  Cylinder.  Then  we  have  the  so-called  lilack 
Stone  inscription  in  archaic  characters,  I  U.  4'.),  50,  which 
describes  the  rebuilding  of  Babylon.  A  line  monolith  was 
found  in  1891  during  the  German  excavations  in  Sinjirli 
(§  757),  bearing  inscriptions  relative  to  the  campaign  in 
Egypt,  besides  elaborately  sculptured  representations  of  the 
Great  King  receiving  the  homage  of  his  vassals.  Other  sources 
of  information,  including  fragments  of  inscriptions,  are  detailed 
in  Tiele,  BAG.  342.  E.  A.  Budge  has  collected  and  translated 
(not  very  correctly)  the  larger  and  smaller  inscriptions  in  his 
History  of  Esarhaddon,  1880.  Cylinder  A  is  well  translated 
by  R.  F.  Harper  in  his  Leipzig  doctor-dissertation,  New  Haven, 
1888.  He  also  helped  {Ilehraica,  vol.  iii)  to  amend  the  text 
of  the  Esarhaddon  documents.  Translations  are  given  in  RP. 
and  (by  Abel  and  Winckler)  in  KB.  II.  In  these  texts  we 
observe  a  more  ornate  style  of  description  and  narration,  a 
tendency  further  developed  in  those  of  his  successor.  Pos- 
sibly the  influence  of  Babylonian  culture  is  here  discernible. 
For  the  chronological  data  of  the  reign  and  important  general 
notices  we  are  indebted  to  Bab.  Chr,  III,  38-IV,  32. 


Note  17 


AlM'f:M)IX 


433 


NOTH    17  (s  7(;;5) 

IXSCUII'TIK.NH    <»K    AS.SIILKHAXII'AL 

\Vk  are  fairly  well  iufonned  as  to  the  events  of  rather  more 
than  the  first  half  of  the  rei^n  of  Asshurl)ani|)al.  Of  the  first 
iiuportance  are  three  ^'re;it  eylinders:  the  two-sided  Cyl.  A 
l.uMished  in  HI  U.  IT-LT.;  the  ei^ht-sided  ("yl.  H  in  III  H. 
.'>()-.'!4,  and  the  ten-sided  Cyl.  U"'  I,  discovi-red  by  Kassani  and 
ltnl)lished  in  V  It.  1-10,  which  runs  most  nearly  paralhd  to 
<'yl.  A.  These  texts  are  full  and  eoini»lete,  hut  dates  are 
not  K'iven,  so  that  we  are  scantily  informed  as  to  the  rehition 
and  time  of  many  events.  IJesidcs.  the  Kponym  Canons  are 
here  scarcely  at  all  available.  These  records  alou},'  with  ndnor 
documents  accessible  up  to  the  date  were  publislied  in  a  sepa- 
rate volume  by  (J.  Smitii,  Ilistorif  of  Asshiti'baiiipdl,  1S71,  with 
transcription  and  translation.  S.  A.  Smith's  Die  h't'ilHchrijltcj'te 
Asurb(Uiii)alft,  Leipzig',  lS.S7-i),  contains  in  its  three  parts 
besides  R'"  1,  many  letters,  despatches,  and  (»ther  documents 
transcribed  and  translated  with  remarks.  Translations  are 
also  given  of  the  principal  inscriptions  in  111*.  The  best 
transcription  and  translation  so  far  p\d)lished  are  those  by 
Jensen  in  KH.  II,  loL'-LMJU,  where  R'"  1  is  giv«'n  in  full  aloni? 
with  supidementary  extracts  from  the  other  cylinders. 

Inscriptions  have  also  been  tVnind  of  Sanuis-sum-ukin,  the 
"disloyal  brother,"'  viceroy  in  liabylon.  One  of  them, a  "l)ilin- 
gual,"'  appears  in  V  R.  02.  This  and  others  have  been  published 
with  transcrii)tion  and  commentary,  by  Lehmann,  S(iinus-snm- 
iikin  Kutn'y  voa  Babijlonieu  (l.Si>L*),  following  his  briefer  doctor- 
dissertation  on  the  same  subject  of  ISSO.  See  also  the  tran- 
scription and  translation  by  Jensen,  in  KR.  Ill,  1,  p.  l*J4-207. 


END   OF   VOL.    ri. 


I'F 


